Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls
by SerafinaMoon
Summary: Harry's lost his memory thanks to a potion and now he's working for Voldemort. Will he ever remember his past? Completed
1. Prologue

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** Serafina Moon

**Date: **December 20, 2004

**Summary: **Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-**I know this is a bit late to be putting out a story, what with the sixth book coming out in a few months, but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it, so here it is. I hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Prologue

* * *

**

_Grew up in a small town  
__And when the rain would fall down  
__I'd just stare out my window  
__Dream'n of what could be  
__And if I'd end up happy  
__I would pray  
__Trying hard to reach out  
__But, when I tried to speak out  
__Felt like no one could hear me  
__Wanted to belong here  
__But something felt so wrong here  
__So, I'd pray  
__I could break away_

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly  
__I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky  
__And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change  
__And break away  
__Out of the darkness and into the sun  
__But, I won't forget all the ones that I love  
__I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change  
__And break away_

_-"Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson

* * *

_

Sounds of laughter floated through the peaceful air of the park as the lazy sun drooped behind the distant mountains. Children scurried here and there, telling their friends goodbye and making arrangements to meet at a later date as their impatient parents tried to drag them away, back to their homes.

The park playground had been renovated, drawing children out to play so that they dragged their parents out to talk to their neighbors or to push them on the swings for the day.

Harry Potter sat at one of the said swings rocking slowly back and forth, scowling and glaring at the carefree nature of the remaining children and their parents. It seemed unbelievable to him that anyone could be so happy with everything that was happening in the world at the moment.

Granted, they did not know about the all out war raging in the world beside their own, but that hardly stopped Harry from being annoyed nonetheless. He was angry, hurt, and depressed and he wanted everyone around him to feel the same.

It just wasn't fair!

_Why did you have to die, Sirius!_ Harry thought for the umpteenth time, savagely drawing his arm across his face to remove the embarrassing wetness from his cheeks.

No matter how much he tried not to think of his godfather, thoughts of Sirius always came flooding in. The night at the Department of Mysteries kept replaying in his thoughts, effectively trapping him within his own mind as well as any Dementor.

Standing up abruptly, Harry looked around, noticing that everyone had already deserted the park except for a father and his son.

"One more time, Daddy!" the young child cried as he climbed the ladder leading up to the slide.

The father smiled and went to stand in front of the slide saying, "Ok, but after this we need to go home! Mummy will be waiting for us!" as he knelt down in front of the slide's end, arms opened wide in invitation.

The child giggled as he came whooshing down, landing in his father's arms, who scooped him up, swinging him around, and tossing him into the air to catch him again and hug him tightly before they too exited the park as darkness began to settle over the area.

Harry's scowl deepened and he turned sharply away, shoving his clenched fists into his pant's pockets and storming back to the Dursley's house. As he left, Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, signaling that someone was watching him again.

Not even drawing his wand or turning to look around, Harry continued on, knowing that it was simply another Order member that had been sent to "guard" him again. At least he knew they were there this year unlike the last.

Not that it was any consolation for him; it annoyed him more than anything that even though he knew they were there they would not talk to him at all. It seemed that they were under orders from Dumbledore to not say anything to him. Apparently he was not supposed to know anything about what was going on until he was to be moved later in the summer.

The Order was planning on coming to collect him earlier than any of the other times this year, and although Harry could not help but to be thankful to be getting away from the Dursley's sooner than ever, he did not want to go to Headquarters – the house of his dead godfather – at all.

_Don't think about that!_ Harry chided himself harshly and abruptly switched his train of thought to the behavior of his relatives.

He had only been home – if you could call it home – for a week, but it had seemed like so much longer (as always when he was with the Dursley's.) At least the threat by Mad-Eye Moody had done some good.

His relatives were acting civilly toward him this year, even buying him brand new clothes for the first time the day after they had picked him up from King's Cross Station, but their forced smiles and gritted teeth told everyone that they plainly did not want to do so much as give him the time of day, let alone new clothes.

Nevertheless, Harry had a completely new wardrobe and was now included in most family matters, like shopping, eating out, and just watching the telly together, though he usually declined.

Any other year, Harry would have gladly welcomed the new development, but now he simply wanted to be alone. He would even have liked to do chores (not that he would ever tell anybody else that) simply for the sake of doing something to take his mind off things.

He had already reread all of his school books from previous years and had now taken to going to the park and observing its occupants.

"Get in here now, boy, and change your clothes! We're going out to eat this evening and I will not have you looking like a hooligan!" Petunia Dursley called, startling Harry out of his reverie so that he only just noticed that he had made it all the way back to Privet Drive.

Harry mentally berated himself for not paying more attention; what did Moody always say? "Constant Vigilance!" Well, he certainly had not been vigilant on his way back.

Harry stepped into the spacious living room of Number 4 and passed his aunt in the hallway on his way up to his room. She had her nose in the air and a haughty aura about her like always, but something had changed. She was always following him around it seemed, watching him out of the corner of her beady little eye, taking notice of everything he did.

She was being nicer to him too, but Harry could not for the life of him figure out why this was so. Only last Wednesday she had given him a necklace of his mother's with a phoenix charm on it (which he was currently wearing) and when he had stopped to ask her why she was giving it to him she snapped, "Don't ask questions!" as always.

Harry shook his head at the enigma his aunt had become and continued up to his room to change clothes. Upon entering Dudley's second bedroom, now his, he noticed the sheets and blankets strewn all over the bed and half lying in the floor from the nightmare he had had that night.

It had started out, as was usual for that summer, in the Department of Mysteries with Sirius falling into the Veil once again, but then it had morphed into a vision of Voldemort...only, Harry could not remember what exactly had happened.

He knew that there had been a new member of Voldemort's circle and he had been telling him about some kind of project that was about to be put into effect. He had said that "its effects won't remain for long...certain details from the past can trigger a remembrance of that past, and too much of that can cause it to become mitigated so that your product is nullified."

Everything other than that part of the vision was hazy and Harry could not remember what was said. As soon as he had woken up, Harry had sent Hedwig off to the Order (like he did every third day as per Moody's orders) telling them that he was fine, but also including the meager portion of his vision and the fact that Voldemort was gathering new recruits.

So far, he had not received a reply back, but it was only a matter of time; Hedwig usually came back within the same day as being set out.

Harry snapped to attention as the front door slammed closed and the sounds of his uncle's heavy footfalls echoed up the stairs as well as his aunt's shout of, "Hurry up, boy! It's almost time to go!"

Sighing in resignation, Harry lifted his shirt over his head, tossing it into the corner and walking over to his chest of drawers, pulling out something more fitting with a restaurant environment. He quickly slipped into a different pair of pants (ones without holes and mud on them) and went to stand before his mirror with a hairbrush in hand.

He ran it through his hair a few times, trying to straighten it out a bit and growled when it just stuck up more. Harry glared at his mirror image, putting the brush back down. He looked more haggard than he ever had before previously, even _with_ new clothes.

His lack of sleep had formed constant bags under his eyes and his lack of appetite had caused him to lose any form of weight he had gained while at school. Even through his shirt, Harry could see and count each rib poking out of his skin and his collarbone stuck out alarmingly as well.

One last call from his aunt saying that they were ready to leave had Harry slipping on his trainers and casting one last despairing glance at his mirror before joining his "family" in the living room.

The drive into London was relatively quiet; the Dursley's, not wanting to talk to Harry – and seemingly not wanting him to hear them say anything at all – only whispered to each other, trying to break the oppressive and palpable tension in the air. Harry merely rolled his eyes and stared out the window, watching the passing scenery.

Harry was just being lulled to sleep by the incessant thrum of the car's engine due to sleep deprivation when the car jerked to a stop, causing Harry to start. Emerald eyes snapped open and took in his surroundings circumspectly.

They had come to a famous restaurant that Uncle Vernon usually took Aunt Petunia out to when Dudley would have "tea" at one of his friend's houses. Harry was surprised the Dursley's would actually bring him somewhere that they actually visited quite often. He figured they would take him somewhere of no consequence so that if "something happened" they would not feel too bad if they were never able to return.

"Come on," Aunt Petunia quipped in icy tones before opening her door. Harry did not even bother to roll his eyes as he followed suite. They entered the fancy milieu as a doorman opened the door and bowed them in with a flourish that made Harry nearly groan aloud.

_I guess they're trying to impress me, or my "friends" with their high and mighty act._ Harry thought to himself, annoyed – it was going to be a long night.

The Dursley's and Harry were seated in a private booth and promptly ordered their meal. The sounds of conversation reverberated around them as they tried to come up with some way to fill the silence that had settled while they waited on their food.

Harry chose to study the other patrons of the restaurant while he waited, that was until Vernon Dursley seemed to feel the need to ask him with a simpering sweet grin how school was.

For a moment, all Harry could do was stare at him in shock. The gaping expression was quickly replaced by one of suspicion and Harry retorted, "Why do you want to know?"

"Just asking, boy. Nothing wrong with that, is there?" replied his uncle in a sickly, syrupy voice to match his smile.

Harry's sense of foreboding kicked in and he immediately became alert. Something was wrong with his relatives if they were being nice to him and the tone of voice his uncle was using combined with the way he was acting suggested that something was amiss.

After all it would take an Imperious Curse to get Uncle Vernon to be nice to him...and out here in the middle of London, his uncle very well could be under someone's control.

Harry looked around, peering closely at everyone at all of the surrounding tables, his wand poking out of his sleeve, aimed and ready. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Harry turned back to his uncle and glared, as Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia only smiled back disarmingly. To his credit, Dudley was looking back and forth between his parents and his cousin in complete confusion, which only served to further Harry's suspicion.

Something was wrong, Harry could feel it, and he did not care how innocent his relatives pretended to be, he would _not_ let his guard down.

"It was fine," he answered curtly before turning sideways in his seat so that he could keep one eye on the Dursley's and the other on everyone else.

When the food came, it was a welcome distraction from the tangible tension that had once again descended upon the family. All of the platters and drinks came to Uncle Vernon and he passed them all around to their owners carefully, eyes scanning the food closely.

Harry wondered that if he'd had the right materials, if he would dissect each and every piece of food before giving them out.

When it came to the drinks, he swirled each of the glasses, nodding to himself and giving a humph after each one. Harry watched with curiosity and some amusement, trying to figure out what his uncle was on about.

When all of the plates and drinks were finally passed out, Dudley – as usual – dug in immediately, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon seemed to be trying and failing to appear as if they were watching Harry as they tucked into their own food.

He glanced up at them to find them both watching him and immediately grew alert once more – the hairs on the back of his neck prickled, all of his instincts screaming _RUN!_.

"Well? How is it, boy?" Uncle Vernon inquired as Harry caught his uncle watching him.

Harry sagged with relief. This was all about them trying to impress him still. It was all a display to show that the muggle world was better than his world and to show how the Dursley family was above him in every way.

The inspection of the food was obviously to make sure that everything was perfect so they could show off for "his lot" once more. Harry found it all ridiculous.

"It's fine, Uncle Vernon," Harry said emotionlessly with just a hint of impatience.

Uncle Vernon nodded self-importantly and turned back to his own food. Harry sighed and finished eating, taking a large swallow of his drink and settling back in his seat.

Almost immediately a foggy, hazy feeling clouded his mind and his thoughts became dense and jumbled, swirling around each other so that Harry could no longer recognize the difference between reality and surreal-ness.

Then a pain, like a pulse of fire stabbing like needles, started from his lungs, flowing outwards so that his entire body seemed to be engulfed in flames as convulsions wracked his body.

Sweat dripped from Harry's face, cooling his body momentarily before the coolness was abruptly ripped away, replaced with a blazing inferno, and Harry felt himself slipping—falling to the floor to land in a heap before his smirking relatives and horror-stricken Order members that had come to the rescue.

In the background, Harry idly noticed someone picking him up and cradling him against them, as the fire seemed to turn to ice in his veins and his body shook, his thoughts becoming lazy and lethargic instead of a dizzying swirl.

One thought was at the forefront of his mind, however, and that was that his original sense of foreboding had been right...something had been wrong with the food. He was poisoned.

Tears pooled in Harry's eyes as a feeling of acid eating away at his flesh came over his freezing, feverish body and his limbs jerked theatrically of their own accord to ward off the unseen enemy before his entire countenance became slack and limp as the world faded to black...

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Well, I hoped you liked it. If you did, let me know and I will attempt to continue. I don't really have a clear plot, but the vague idea should keep me going. If you all have questions about this story, please ask and I'll set up an FAQ at the end of each chapter.

**Coming Up:** _What happens to Harry, the Order's reaction, and more information about what's going on...in Chapter 2:End of an Era_.

I'd like to thank my beta reader Jin for helping me out with everything.


	2. End of an Era

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** January 7, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Yay! I'm really glad so many of my friends responded to the news of my new story! Thank you all for reviewing! Hopefully we'll be able to pick up some others along the way! Welcome to the next installment...I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1: End of an Era

* * *

**

_Hold on to me love  
__You know I can't stay long  
__All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid  
__Can you hear me?  
__Can you feel me in your arms?  
_

_Holding my last breath  
__Safe inside myself  
__Are all my thoughts of you  
__Sweet raptured light  
__It ends here tonight_

_I miss the winter  
__A world of fragile things  
__Look for me in the white forest  
__Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)  
__I know you hear me  
__I can taste it in your tears_

_Holding my last breath  
__Safe inside myself  
__Are all my thoughts of you  
__Sweet raptured light  
__It ends here tonight_

_Closing your eyes to disappear  
__You pray your dreams will leave you here  
__But still you wake and know the truth  
__No one's there  
__Say goodnight  
__Don't be afraid  
__Calling me, calling me as you fade to black_

"_My Last Breath" by Evanescence_

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sat grimly in the living room of Grimmauld Place, waiting expectantly for news of any kind.

They had just been sitting down to dinner with the rest of the Weasley family along with all of the Order members that were currently staying at Headquarters for the time being, when all of the Order members simultaneously stiffened.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George had all looked on as the others gazed nervously at each other before Tonks had pulled something out of her robes, glanced at it, eyes widening, and gasped.

She jumped up, placing whatever she had been looking at in her pocket, and nodded to the others who stood up as well. Immediately after that they had all rushed out, saying nothing to those staring after them, leaving the non-Order members to interrogate Mrs. Weasley.

All they had managed to get out of her was, "It's Harry, now eat your dinner."

Now, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had progressed to the living room to sit in front of the fire while Fred and George moved on to their room.

All three of them looked up as the front door creaked slowly open as if the person or persons behind it were too weary to do more than gradually push it open.

Ron and Hermione jumped to their feet, but remained where they were as they heard soft, shuffling footsteps heading their way in the main hall.

The first pair of footsteps was soon joined by another pair as Remus and Tonks appeared in the doorframe of the living room.

A feeling of dread washed over them as the couple appeared; Remus' hand hung limply at his side, his shoulders sagged as if a great weight was bearing down on him and his head was pointed to the ground, grayish-brown hair covering his face and shielding his amber eyes from those in the room.

When he was finally able to muster the energy to lift his head, the others in the room gasped at what they saw. His eyes were red and puffy, while his moon kissed cheeks were wet with tear-tracks.

It was then that they noticed how his right hand was wrapped tightly around a stick of wood...a wand...Harry's wand.

Ginny gasped at the sight and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide and shining with unshed tears.

"What happened?" Ron whispered hoarsely, afraid of the answer, Hermione's fingers digging into his arm as she held onto him.

"Harry..." Remus choked up before forcefully regaining a semblance of a calm, collected voice. "Harry was poisoned. He's..."

Remus paused, but it was enough.

"No...NO, he _can't_ be! He just _can't_," stated Ron, his face blank as he felt Hermione slump down to the floor beside him. He felt numb as shock took over and he muttered his denial over and over, voice increasing in pitch and volume with each repetition.

Remus' face was scrunched up in pain as he whispered, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." Tears started falling from his eyes and he turned away, bounding up the stairs and out of sight, a worried looking Tonks gazing after him.

She cast one last dour glance at the group before following after Remus.

Ron wobbled slightly and he turned to the nearest chair, using the arm of it to help ease him down as he teetered precariously on his feet.

A moment later, Molly Weasley entered the room, wiping her hands on her apron and saying, "Did I just hear Remus come in? Did he say what happened?"

Looking around, she saw both Ginny and Hermione huddled on the floor, clutching each other tightly and weeping and Ron sitting in a chair, staring blankly at nothing.

In the time it took for the scene to sink in, Fred and George had come downstairs and entered the room as well saying, "Hey, we just heard Remus' door slam closed. Did he say what happened? It was his shift wasn't it?"

What they said seemed to have gotten through to Ron who turned his blank eyes to them slowly. His mouth opened and closed weakly a few times before he could get out a strangled, "Harry's gone."

Fred, George, and Molly looked alarmed and stricken.

"Gone! What do you mean gone! Has he been taken again!"

"No!" Ron cried, tears starting to gather in his eyes and fall in a rush. "He's _GONE_! IT'S...NOT...FAIR!" he raged, standing up and striding to the fire, kicking the hearth and causing his mother and the twins to gasp sharply.

"WHY!" he screamed at the ceiling, "WHY HIM!..." a sob escaped him despite his best efforts to hold them back. "Why does it always have to be him?" he whispered brokenly as his rantwhich started out strong and harshended in a bawl, as he too sank down in front of the fire, staring at the flames with silent tears streaming in rivets down his face, as he hid his grief behind his shaking hands.

Molly whispered a broken, "No..." and collapsed against the doorframe as tears began to gather in her eyes and flow down her cheeks without reserve.

The twins just seemed to deflate as their faces and bodies sagged at Ron's words and they looked at each other desolately. For a moment nobody moved, but finally, as if it took a great effort, Molly stood up straight and went over to her son, comforting him as best she could as she led him off to his room to give him a calming and sleeping draft.

Copying their mother, Fred and George went over to comfort the girls who both latched onto them, seeking reassurance and comfort.

After putting Ron and the girls to bed and sending Fred and George off to their room, Molly returned to the kitchen where she sat at the table and merely buried her face in her arms, her body wracking with broken sobs. She had to be strong for the children and take care of them, but now that she was alone she could release her grief fully.

Harry had been like a surrogate son to her, and now she had lost him. He was such a good boy and he had been alone for so long that she wished she could give him what he desperately wanted: a normal life.

Just when things had seemed to take a turn for the better for him in his third year, everything had just turned around, starting with the return of the Dark Lord—Voldemort.

Everything had just gone downhill after his return; there had been the death of the Diggory boy, Cedric, and then poor Harry had had such a troubling fifth year, followed by the death of Sirius...and now this.

Poor Remus, he had been so torn up over Sirius' death; Harry had been all he had left...now even he was gone. Molly was afraid that this might be the last straw, with Harry's death, he might just fall so far into depression that they would not be able to help him out of it.

Ron was right, why did bad things always happen to Harry?

The front door opened and weary footsteps sounded in the hall, interrupting Molly's musings and stanching her flow of tears. She looked up as Moody, Kingsley, Bill, and Hestia entered and sat down, all with grim expressions, taking note of her blotchy face.

"I suspect Dumbledore'll want to hold a meeting tonight, you think?" muttered Kingsley darkly.

"S'pose so," Moody gruffly answered. Molly sniffed in response.

"What happened?"

Moody answered. "Potter went out to eat with his relatives to some fancy restaurant and someone obviously managed to poison the food. He went into a seizure of some sort, which alerted Remus that something was wrong; he called us, we all took him to St. Mungo's where he was pronounced dead after not but five minutes. There was nothing they could do."

"What about the Dursley's? What did they do?"

"Absolutely, bloody nothing," Moody literally growled. "Saw what was going on and left before they could be associated with their own nephew. The bloody Muggles."

Molly mentally cursed the relatives that Harry lived with. To derail that thought, she decided to bring down Remus and Tonks.

She quietly dismissed herself and left the room, quickly going upstairs to gather Remus and Tonks so they could come down and join the other adults.

When she entered the darkened room, the two were sitting on the bed side by side with their backs to her, both their heads hanging low. She walked around to stand at the end of the bed to find Remus staring at a portrait taken before the death of Lily and James Potter. It contained all of the Marauders excluding Peter, who was taking the picture, Lily, and a baby Harry. Tonks was right beside him, rubbing his back and leaning her head against his shoulder, providing what comfort she could to the lamenting man.

Silent tears glittered on the faces of them both and Molly was reluctant to pull them away, but if there was to be a meeting they would need to attend.

Softly, she tapped Tonks on the shoulder. Tonks picked her head up and turned to look at Molly questioningly.

Molly answered, saying, "There should be a meeting soon, you two might want to come down, dears."

Tonks smiled slightly at her and nodded.

Remus did not say anything for a few moments; he did not even move so that Molly thought he had not heard her, but then he said, "If there's a meeting I'll come down, but not until it starts. Someone can come get me then."

"I will," whispered Tonks, patting his shoulder and standing up to leave the room with Molly.

At the door, she turned and looked back, making Molly stop and look back at the younger woman. She could see Tonks' hesitation to leave Remus by himself and the Weasley matriarch could not help except to agree her.

"Come on, dear," Molly said gently and placing a hand on Tonks' arm.

The Metamorphmagus heaved a sigh and followed Molly back to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Arthur Weasley walked in, tiredly clutching a crumpled letter in his hand.

He went straight for his wife, saying, "I've just heard what happened," he waved the piece of parchment, "Dumbledore's on his way along with Snape and McGonagall. There's going to be an Inner Circle Meeting tonight."

Moody snorted with grim humor as he scanned the faces of everyone in the room. Everyone had a look about them of helplessness; it was as if when Potter died, he had taken the hope of the world with him.

It was not long before Dumbledore arrived with Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape in tow. He sat down heavily in the chair at the head of the table, charming the door as he did so. Severus and Minerva sat down on either side of him looking both stoic and defeated respectively.

Dumbledore sighed, looking every bit as old as his age declared him. His eyes no longer twinkled, wrinkles seemed to be etched deeply in his face, and his every movement was expressed with tiredness.

"What's going on Albus?" Moody inquired. "Potter was supposed to be safe with his relatives."

"Shouldn't we wait for Remus? He should be here for this too."

"Yes, he should. Could one you please go find him for me?"

"Certainly, I'll be right back," replied Tonks.

She left the room, un-charming the door so she could get out and went up the stairs, her steps resounding behind her.

The Order sat in silence until she came back with Remus Lupin behind her. Remus sat down stiffly in an empty seat, looking for the entire world as if he was ready to bolt from the room at a moment's notice as Tonks reapplied the spells on the door and sat down herself.

Nobody missed the worried looks she sent Remus' way, or, for that matter, Remus' blotchy face that indicated he had been crying. He still had Harry's wand clutched in his right hand.

Dumbledore sighed again and began speaking.

"Harry, as you all know, was supposed to be safe in his relative's care. As long as the blood bond between them was active he could not be harmed while in their presence. That bond was to remain as long as they kept him of their own free will. If they no longer accepted him in their family, he would be left unprotected and that, unfortunately, is exactly what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"When I questioned the Dursley's, well, they needed a bit of...incentive...to cooperate," here Snape snorted and crossed his arms, staring at the table as Dumbledore leveled a glare at him. "I persuaded them to tell me what had happened from their point of view and they did," and Molly heard him mutter, "and now I wish they hadn't."

"Quit being so secretive and mysterious and just tell us what they said already," growled Moody, losing his patience.

Once more, Dumbledore gave a long, drawn-out sigh before saying, "It seems as if the Dursley's were _bribed_ into taking Harry to that restaurant to be poisoned. They had a plan all worked out.

"The Death Eaters have been observing them for quite some time and knew they regularly visited this particular restaurant. They had one of their own infiltrate the place and when the Dursley's arrived at the appointed time, all they had to do was plant the poison and have Vernon Dursley make sure Harry got the right drink."

"How could he do that? He's a Muggle! And what were they bribed with?"

"He could have easily done it. All the Death Eaters had to do was tell him which drink was unsafe and have him make sure Harry drunk or ate whatever it was. As for what they were bribed with; their son got to keep his life and they were made richer if they agreed."

Remus' eyes held a murderous glint in them that Molly knew was mirrored in her own as he asked in a dangerously low growl, "What did they say?"

Dumbledore's face looked pained before he grounded out, "They merely said that the Death Eaters had told them that they would take Harry off of their hands permanently if they did what the Death Eaters told them."

Remus began shaking with barely suppressed anger as he unconsciously stood up. Arthur stood up as well and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which Remus merely shook off.

"Please sit down, Remus, we are not quite finished yet."

Remus was hesitant, but he reluctantly complied.

"Why do you think he attacked Harry now?"

"It is my guess that Voldemort has been working so hard to kill him these past few years to keep Harry from reaching the age of sixteen, when his full potential would manifest itself."

"Are you saying that in a way...Voldemort was _afraid_ of Harry?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment before a glint appeared in his eyes, as if something had just occurred to him. The only thing he said, however, was, "In a way, I suppose I am saying that."

For a moment no one said anything as Dumbledore thoughtfully set one elbow on the table and rested his chin upon his fisted hand, staring at the ceiling with a pensive expression pasted on his face.

"Hm..." he murmured so that Severus snapped.

"What!"

"I was just wondering, Severus...How good of a potion maker is Voldemort?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at the Headmaster as if he could not fathom why he was being asked such a random question before finally answering, "He's not the best, but I would say that he's obviously covered the basics since he gained his body back by making a rather complex potion-or at least instructing that dunderhead Pettigrew in making it anyway."

Dumbledore frowned and muttered to himself, "Maybe he did, but still...hm...but if he did and it came to pass...then maybe someone else could..." before announcing to the room at large, "I wish to inspect Harry's body for myself."

"What are you thinking, Albus," asked Minerva.

"I have just had a suspicion. At the moment there is no proof, as of now, that my suspicionor hopeis correct or even plausible, and until I have substantial evidence, I do not wish to raise your hopes unnecessarily."

Everyone's eyes widened as the implications of what Dumbledore was insinuating sunk inHarry might still be alive.

Dumbledore raised a hand that quieted the mumblings that statement stirred up and said, "Like I mentioned before, until I have a look for myself we will not know either way what has happened. Let us not jump to conclusions before that time comes. Now, Severus, you have some news for us, I believe?"

Severus nodded in acquiescence. "The Dark Lord has been planning something for some time, although in hindsight, I suppose killing Potter could actually be what he has been hiding these past couple of weeks. But it is my belief that with Potter finally out of the way, the Dark Lord will move on to some other project. He is already gathering followers as you know, I'm sorry I do not know much, but I am no longer as trusted as I once was."

All of this was said callously, as if Snape had not a care in the world that the last of the Potter's, one of Remus' best friends, had just died. It was all too much for the poor man and he stood up again, towering over the table at Snape and shouted, "You don't care do you? You don't care that the last of another pureblood line has died out as long as it means the last of James Potter is gone as well do you?"

"Well, I must say, it will make things easier during the school time," Snape drawled, drawing gasps from those around him and causing Dumbledore to shoot him a glare that stated 'That was uncalled for.'

Remus was, perhaps, the most affected by this statement, as he jumped over the table using his superhuman abilities and tackled Snape, upending his chair, and punching him in the face before Kingsley and Tonks could separate them. When Snape finally straightened, there was blood pouring from his nose where Remus' fist had connected.

"Severus, Remus, please sit back down," Albus commanded softly.

"NO!" Remus shouted still agitated. Pointing at Snape he said, "I'm tired of him having a go at Harry just because he's James' son! Until he leaves, I'll be in my room!" and with that he stormed out of the kitchen so that once again the charms had to be recast on the door.

Molly got up while this was done and got a rag for Severus' nose. She handed it to him rigidly, after all, she too was mad at him for what he said about Harry; it just was not necessary.

Once order was restored to the Order, Albus prompted Severus to continue, "What were you saying about him gathering followers, Severus?"

Molly noticed that he, too, did not sound very remorseful about Snape's "accident," although he dutifully tapped his wand against Snape's nose, stopping the blood flow easily.

"He is trying to draw followers to him from all different countries. He wants as much support as he can get before he tries to stand up against you. He has already gathered followers from France, Ireland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, and I've even heard rumors about a new recruit that has quickly moved up the ranks into the Inner Circle that originates from Japan.

"I am not sure what he does for the Dark Lord, but I believe he is a Potion Master from his country...more than likely here to replace me. When I wondered into the Dark Lord's store room for preparation of one of his potions I saw his supplies set out.

"Many of the ingredients were unknown to me, but a few of them seemed to be familiar. I thought I recognized what he was brewing, but one of the unknown ingredients must have been added because it wasn't the same.

"His workbook was on the table, but it was written in his native language and I could not translate it.

"Unfortunately I do not know what he was making because the Dark Lord, as it seems, does not trust me with even miniscule information anymore. I have only been called to the general Death Eater meetings where nothing of much consequence is discussed as most are simply new recruits. That is all I have at present."

"Thank you, Severus. As you can each see the situation has become much more desperate, I need each of you keep a close watch for even a hint of Death Eater activity. Notify me immediately if you hear anything at all. Now, Arthur, what do you hear of the Ministry?"

* * *

Harry's funeral was held only three days after being pronounced dead. After having examined the body of Harry Potter for himself, Albus Dumbledore reluctantly told the Order that The-Boy-Who-Lived was no more; the expression on his face revealing he did not entirely believe his analysis despite all evidence to the contrary.

As Harry had no legal, wizarding guardian, the funeral's arrangements were planned by Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster of Hogwarts. A multitude of people turned out for the funeral to give their respects to the one that had rid them of Voldemort after the first war.

With many of those being only fans, they stayed no more than an hour or so, mostly for the memorial service. Those that considered themselves "loyal admirers" followed the friends—or family—of Harry to the gravesite where he would be laid to rest beside his parents.

Therefore, no one noticed a foreign man that kept his face hidden in the shadowy folds of his hooded cloak. He said not one word to anyone, but his cold grey eyes seemed to watch everyone and everything, especially the casket of one Harry Potter.

He did not leave until the black coffin was lowered into the ground and covered with firmly packed dirt. At that time, he left the congregation of people behind and Disapprated with a nearly imperceptible popping sound into a large, ornately furnished manor.

With that, he walked swiftly through the Main Hall towards a pair of great mahogany doors with intricate carvings of serpents etched into their frames. Promptly pushing the great doors open, the man stepped into the room and strode up the room to where a single figure sat perched upon a solitary chair.

The man swept back his hood revealing ebony black hair that gleamed in the light as he fell to his knees before the man in the chair and kissed the hem of his long robes before stating, "They've placed him, my lord."

A high, shrill laugh resounded around the room, sending chills down the man's spine as the serpentine face turned glittering ruby red eyes upon him and replying with an abnormally snake-like hiss, "Excellent."

With an icy cold smile that stretched the pasty face and revealed a man capable of plotting grand machinations, those forbidding crimson eyes swept around the room, seeming to make a mockery as they looked for something they knew would not be there.

The frigid voice then said in a condescending tone, "Hm...A part of my décor appears to be missing. Where is...The-Boy-Who-Always-Lives?"

As if a special password had been spoken, the feel of magic was initialized- emanating from Voldemort's powerful form and in the blink of an eye an apparently dead Harry Potter materialized within the room, lying as still as death.

Voldemort smiled as if his innermost dream had come true.

"Give him the antidote to the Draught of Living Death, Ganmou."

"Of course, my lord," sneered the said black haired man.

"Oh, and don't forget to administer the special potion we've prepared for him."

"Of course not, my lord." The dark-skinned wizard pulled two bottles from the innermost folds of his oriental robes; one was filled with a brilliant green liquid and the other an ominous purple. He administered first the green potion before forcing the purple down the unconscious boy's throat.

As Harry Potter stirred and began to wake; his emerald eyes opened, revealing a blank emptiness both men seemed to be expecting.

"Excellent," hissed Voldemort happily...Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, Savior of the Wizarding World, and Triwizard Champion now had no recollections of his past or who he had been previously...Voldemort could mold him into whatever he wanted and no one was going to stop him...because everyone thought Harry Potter was dead.

How...ironic. Voldemort laughed long and loud as he ushered his now most trusted servant out of the room bearing The-Boy-Who-Lived with him. Things were going to get interesting...

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Thank you all for reading! Please leave a review...tell me your thoughts about the story—what you liked, disliked, and mistakes you might have noticed...If you have any questions please ask and I'll be sure to address them!

**Coming Up: **_A year and a half later, Harry is learning new spells and abilities and is given his first mission by Voldemort...in Chapter 3: Know Thy Enemy._

_**Review Responses:**_

**MagicmanSmokegirl**: Hey! What happened to your everyday emails? How were midterms? (have you had them yet?) I had mine...I did _okay_ I guess...Thank you for your sentiments...I know how you feel Smokegirl. They're lurking in the dark, just waiting...

**Hazel-Beka**: Hey, Hazel-chan! Is it just me or did your yami run off for a couple of days last week too? Mine's been taking over me a lot lately and it's been really annoying to find myself in difficult situations like the ones Selina leaves me in...that's probably why she does it. Yup, I finally got my HP story up! I'm glad you like it...although you might find that what I have planned will never be in the books even if I do keep to the traditional style. Sheesh, Beka-kun, give the kid a break...he's got to follow plot points...lol

**LadayoftheWood**: Hi, _Laday_, thanks for the review! You make me so happy...(so the squirrel says...lol) Well, I'm glad you still reviewed even though you already read it! I'm also glad you like it! I hope you have good luck on your story.

**Una**: Una-chan! hugs You reviewed, yay! Actually, I'm happy to be back writing! I need to find _some_ way to keep my life interesting in a boring school-filled world (as you well know...after all, you're the one that writes parts of your story _in class!_) That song is from Princess Diaries 2, my mom's in love with it and watches it all the time...I liked the song so I put it in. Don't worry, there is a reason...and a major plot point for the Dursley's giving Harry new clothes (among other things). Well, I do believe that some of your questions were answered in this chapter, although I don't think that all of them will be revealed at the moment. Keep an eye out, you're doing a good job of picking out some clues...(oh, yeah, thanks for telling ppl about my story! Your friend Liz reviewed! Go you! gives you Yugi plushie in cute purple outfit)

**Jin**: Hey, beta-reader buddy! Thank you for reviewing and I plan to give you credit for all the chapters you beta read for me! LOL, you are so funny (3 whole spaces...lol)

**Dragon and Sword Master**: Yay! You're back, you're front...you're both here...(sorry, excerpt from Aladdin and the King of Thieves...) I can because I'm evil and I'm the author! You know me! I just love leaving people in suspense! I'm glad you liked it!

**Liz**: Hi! It's nice to have new reviewers! It gets me so excited! Thank you for reviewing and I'm sincerely glad you liked the start of my story! Your encouragement was simply inspiring!

_I'd like to say a great big thanks to my friend Jin for beta reading this chapter!_


	3. Know Thy Enemy

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date: **January 8-17, 2005

**Summary: **Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N- **Thank you guys so much for reviewing! It just makes me feel so special to see so many of my friends commenting on my stories! I just love it! (gives everyone candy—oops, watch out for the sugar rush!)

* * *

**Chapter 3: Know Thy Enemy

* * *

**

_Catch me as I fall  
__Say you're here and it's all over now  
__Speaking to the atmosphere  
__No one's here and I fall into myself  
__This truth drives me into madness  
__I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away_

_Don't turn away  
__Don't give into the pain  
__Don't try to hide  
__Though they're screaming your name  
__Don't close your eyes  
__God knows what lies behind them  
__Don't turn out the light  
__Never sleep, never die_

_I'm frightened by what I see  
__But somehow I know that there's much more to come  
__Immobilized by my fear  
__And soon to be blinded by tears  
__I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away_

_Don't turn away  
__Don't give into the pain  
__Don't try to hide  
__Though they're screaming your name  
__Don't close your eyes  
__God knows what lies behind them  
__Don't turn out the light  
__Never sleep, never die_

_Fallen angels at my feet  
__Whispered words at my ear  
__Death before my eyes  
__Lying next to me I fear  
__She beckons me, shall I give in  
__Upon my end, shall I begin  
__Forsaking all I've fallen for, I rise to meet the end_

"_Whisper" -Evanescence

* * *

_

"_Navitas!_" Naito shouted, his ebony wand pointed at his mentor, Ganmou Gin Koori.

A bolt of green energy shot out through his Basilisk fang core, narrowly missing the older man as he jumped safely to the side.

Ganmou had been Naito's teacher and caretaker for over a year now, training him in all manners of magic: Potions (as he was a Potions Master), Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, Cures, Curses and Hexes and their Counters, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Dark Arts, and many other such types of magic.

Master Koori was a Japanese man who had come to Britain to serve his master—Lord Voldemort and, for as far back as Naito could remember, had been taking care of him and teaching him, helping him learn to better serve the Dark Lord as their number one spy.

How was a seventeen year old boy the top spy to the greatest dark wizard of the age?

Simple. He was the only one that could sneak around completely undetected using his special abilities and because he was completely loyal to the cause of the Dark Lord...or so everyone thought.

Naito had his reasons for resenting Voldemort and one of them was the death of his closest and only friend in the dark, deserted manor.

The only people that came to Voldemort's manor with any amount of frequency were the Death Eaters and they either ignored him or were some of his teachers, like Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Ganmou Koori.

These four and Voldemort were the only ones that knew the full extent of Naito's powers and it was obvious that they were going to keep it that way.

They had helped him (along with Voldemort himself) discover and harness the powers of his new abilities such as becoming a Metamorphmagus, wandless magic, Apparation and Disappration, Occlumency, some advanced magic principles, and taught him how to become an Animagus.

Or at least, that was what they thought he was. It had been quite odd when Naito had changed from a black and green phoenix into a silver and gold unicorn.

With a bit of experimentation, Naito had discovered (with the aid of his tutors) that he had an almost limitless number of creatures that he could change into and could also change what colors they were.

It seemed to have stemmed from mixing Naito's Metamorphmagus abilities with becoming an Animagus so that he could almost combine the two and use them at the same time.

This fact alone made him an invaluable weapon to the Dark Side's crusade and also made him such an excellent spy.

"_Congelo!_" shouted Ganmou, followed quickly with a Disarming Spell.

Naito managed to dive to the floor and avoid the Freezing Spell, but he rolled right into the Disarming Charm and his wand went sailing over to rest in his teacher's hands while he was thrown into the wall.

Naito was not out of the running yet, however. As Ganmou sent an "_Incendio_" spell in his direction, Naito jumped to the side, hitting the wall to keep himself on balance and jumping back in the other direction, using his wandless magic to summon his wand back to his hand.

Naito had training sessions everyday with one of the more predominating Death Eaters and currently he was dueling with his caretaker, the hardest of all the Death Eaters he had fought so far (not counting the Dark Lord himself as Naito was _never_ able to beat him).

Naito's schedule was strict and if he ever failed to arrive where he was supposed to be on time, he was met with a swift and uncaring "_Crucio_." He woke up at six in the morning, got ready for the day, had breakfast and attended lessons until lunch, which was followed by his afternoon training sessions. After his training session, Naito would attend his lessons for a few more hours before returning to his chambers to rest.

Everyday (except Saturday and Sunday, when Naito could go to the library and study whatever he wished—to be demonstrated when he returned to lessons) Naito returned to the same monotonous schedule, but not a day went by that something interesting did not happen at Voldemort's Central Headquarters.

Why, just the other day, Naito had overheard an interesting conversation between Wormtail/Peter Pettigrew and Lucius Malfoy describing something called the Orb of Souls.

Supposedly, it was some new weapon that Voldemort desired to obtain to help him purge the world from its impurities. Not quite sure what was so special about it, Naito decided to research the Orb of Souls and discover its purpose for the Dark Lord. He would, of course, keep this research and interest to himself, as this was obviously something he was not meant to know.

But what kind of spy would he be if he did not know things that he was not supposed to?

"_Concisus!_" whispered Ganmou so quietly that Naito almost missed it. Seeing the arc of light glinting like silver metal heading for him, Naito jerked to his right, narrowly missing the wall and managing to avoid the brunt of the attack although still receiving a small cut across his cheek despite his troubles.

Naito conjured a brick wall to stand between himself and his mentor then quickly tapped himself with his wand to turn invisible. With that, he crept out from behind his wall, watching his teacher trying to vanquish it so he would not have to come around the wall and walk into some kind of trap.

Naito tiptoed around the edge of the room until he was directly behind Ganmou, whispering a "_Stupefy._" Naito hoped Ganmou would go down easily.

No such luck.

As if sensing someone behind him, the Japanese man spun around and cast a reflexive "_Protego!_" before pointing his wand straight up in the air, causing silver sparkles to rain from the sky and terminate Naito's invisibility spell.

Naito groaned in frustration as he dodged another spell by his tutor. This was going to take _forever!_ He needed to think up something obscure and soon otherwise Ganmou would easily gain the advantage over the tiring teenager.

Sweat was pouring down his face, and his chest heaved from the exertion. His black bangs clung wetly to his forehead as did his training garments. Some of the sweat dripped into his eyes, making his eyesight blurry.

Naito quickly wiped it away, but it was just enough of a distraction. He had been hit with a spell and lost his wand again, not to mention being thrown back into his brick wall.

Looking up at it, Naito had an idea. He rolled onto his stomach to miss an incoming spell. Using his wandless magic, he created a drifting fog that settled right in between the two duelists. Before Ganmou had a chance to disperse the fog, Naito Apparated to right behind him and pushed him forward towards the wall.

Then he summoned the top of the wall towards himself, causing it to fall and topple over onto his trainer. While Ganmou was trying to block the falling wall, Naito cast another "_Stupefy_" so that his caretaker went limp and still.

Before the wall could crush his teacher, Naito waved his hand and the wall instantly disappeared. After gathering his and Ganmou's wands, Naito muttered a simple "_Enervate,_" to revive his fallen instructor.

The man blinked his eyes open and glared at Naito, giving a sharp nod of approval before striding up to him, demanding his wand back. Naito handed it over and stepped out of the way as the Japanese man strode past him saying, "The Dark Lord wishes to speak with you in his throne room; you are dismissed from your evening classes. Go get changed and meet him there."

"Yes sir," said Naito with his head bowed dejectedly. No matter what he did, it just never seemed to be good enough for the man. He sighed quietly to himself before hurrying to proceed with getting ready.

After a fast shower and change, Naito was ready to face his Master.

Stepping into the throne room, Naito noticed the only other figure in the room besides the Dark Lord and himself...Severus Snape. One of Lord Voldemort's Potion Masters and also his senior spy.

While Naito might have been the _best_ spy due to his special abilities, Snape—being his senior by several years—was the one allowed the most privileges and missions. Then again, that could also have something to do with the fact that he was no longer in school or training.

Naito approached the majestic throne cautiously. Next to the chair on a rug lay Voldemort's pet serpent—Nagini. Naito bowed low before his master, kissing the hem of his robes and waiting to hear the standard, "Get up," before standing.

"I have decided," started the Dark Lord, his blood red eyes boring into Naito's icy blue orbs and sending a chill down the young man's spine, "to send you to Hogwarts this year. Severus here has consented to help you slip past the Muggle-loving fool's defenses. You will need to attend an interview with the old coot himself and pass inspection and inquisition. I expect there to be no slip-ups or you both shall pay the price."

"Severus, prepare the portkey," Voldemort said, dismissing Snape from the room. The greasy-haired Professor left, leaving Naito alone with the snakelike maniac.

"It is time to send you on a mission of your own. The time has come when all you have been trained for shall be put to the test. I expect you to use all you have learned to serve me by spying on the Order of Phoenix."

"Yes, Master."

"I trust Ganmou has filled you in on the basics of your task?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good. I want you to get close to the friends of the deceased Harry Potter: the Mudblood—Hermione Granger, the muggle-lover—Ron Weasley, and his sister Ginny Weasley. Make friends with them and find out exactly who is in the Order and find out what Dumbledore's plans are. Weed out any of his spies among our ranks and report to me anything you learn. Once you begin school, I will send someone to gather the information from you every Friday night on the edge of the borders in the Forbidden Forest. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master. I live to serve you and will do as you request," Naito drawled with distain. He hated the reptilian bastard, but as he had taken care of him and provided for him, and seeing as Naito had nowhere else to go, he would do as he was commanded...for now.

He would do what he needed to do to stay alive. After all, Naito knew that the only reason the Dark Lord kept him around was because of his unique abilities. As soon as Naito outlived his usefulness, he would be thrown away...killed.

Naito planned to do what he was required, but he would do things his way. In short, he would do whatever it took to gain the advantage and stay one step ahead.

He may have no recollections of his past from before a year and a half ago, but Naito had a feeling that before he had lost his memory...someone...somewhere...had cared about him and wanted him. It was as if a part of his past still lingered within him, guiding him.

His instincts had told him when he had first come to be in Voldemort's service not to trust the monster...they had been right, but Naito had not listened. It had cost him the life of his only friend. From then on Naito had decided to trust his instincts.

Snape swept back into the room, breaking through Naito's musings. He nodded once to his master before turning to the dark-haired, shallow-skinned Potion's Master and placing his hand on the prearranged portkey, was swept off to Hogwarts in a rush of color with only a tug behind his navel.

Naito's feet slammed into the ground hard; only the advanced training he had taken in dueling had kept him from falling over when they reached their destination.

Naito looked around curiously upon reaching the castle and stared up at it in awe. He was not able to stop the gigantic grin from spreading across his face at the sight of the enamored castle-–complete with torrents and towersperched atop a mountain in front of a large lake where a giant squid lounged peacefully.

Looking over at his minder, Naito quickly wiped the grin off his face when he saw Severus Snape watching him.

Snape raised an eyebrow in his direction, but Naito only gazed back stoically, meeting the Professor's eyes fully. When it became apparent that Naito was not going to say anything, Snape led him up the lawn and into the castle, directly to a stone gargoyle.

Scowling, one of the most feared Death Eaters in Voldemort's ranks muttered, "Lemon Lollipops," causing Naito to smirk at the older man who glared back at him.

With a swish of his robes, Snape led Naito up a spiral staircase and into what the young boy decided must be the Headmaster's office. It was a large, beautiful, circular room. A large perch sat in one corner of the room, currently unoccupied.

A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables and the walls were covered with paintings of previous Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses all of whom were looking at the new arrivals curiously.

Naito gazed back at them with a bored expression that simply exhibited confidence. Naito's attention was diverted to the large desk when the person behind it cleared their throat.

An eyebrow rose as Naito looked over at the Headmaster distantly polite. After all, Naito had a job to do. It would not do well for him to make Voldemort angry at him, besides, Naito had his own reasons for entering into Hogwarts.

"I see you have a guest, Severus. Would you both please have a seat?"

Snape gave a curt nod, handing over some rolls of parchment to the headmaster before sitting stiffly in a straight-backed chair in front of the desk, before saying, "This is Naito Kuroi Koori. He wishes to join Hogwarts this year—his seventh year—to finish his education."

While Snape introduced Naito, he sat down leisurely looking as if he had not a care in the world, reminding the headmaster of a certain blond-haired, aristocratic Slytherin. Dumbledore took a minute to study the young man before him carefully.

His blue eyes were cold and calculating, taking in even the slightest of details. His expression was guarded and stoic, making him look dangerous and powerful. His black hair hung over his tan, refined face, falling just above his ears. His entire presence was commanding and superior, exuding power in waves that Dumbledore could feel in the boy's ambient energy.

Dumbledore shook his head and wondered if this was a good idea. Severus had told him that this was Voldemort's protégé and an excellent spy, but Severus had also informed him that, through careful observation, he could detect a slight resentfulness towards the Dark Lord and that the boy could be perhaps swayed in the right direction with a bit of encouragement.

As Headmaster of Hogwarts and a caretaker to a multitude of children, Dumbledore always tried to see the good in people, giving them a chance, hoping they could see it in themselves, even if it was buried deep down.

Dragging himself out of his musings, the old man asked, "What former education did you have?"

"I was taught at home by my parents."

"Why have they suddenly decided to send you here to Hogwarts for your very last year?" Dumbledore asked although he knew the truth of this boy.

He was simply playing a role laid out for him by Tom Riddle...and he was doing a remarkable job so far. Dumbledore tested Naito's mental defenses, only to find them impeccable and flawless. Of course Voldemort had taught his best spy Occlumency, but that was as he suspected anyway.

"My parents were killed in a raid by Voldemort and I was sent to live with my Squib uncle and Muggle aunt. They decided to let me continue my education by coming here."

Dumbledore was impressed by the story and the blatant use of the Dark Lord's name. As far as he had heard, none of Tom's followers ever called him anything other than "Master" or "The Dark Lord;" not even Severus was willing to say his name, even when he was in Order meetings. This boy was a definite enigma to say the very least.

"What subjects will you be expecting to take once the new semester starts? You may take the five core classes and two electives of your choice."

Naito looked thoughtful for a moment before replying casually, "Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Runes," knowing that he knew enough Astronomy and Arithmancy (not to mention History of Magic) to surpass most if not all of the students (maybe even the teachers themselves) in the class. After all he could always broaden his large repertoire of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.

Dumbledore gave Naito a nod and studied him for a moment longer. This boy certainly acted sincere in everything he had said. If the headmaster had not already known why the boy was trying to get into his school, he would not be able to tell that he actually meant them harm.

Everyone would need to be cautious around this boy and be careful about everything they say around him. Severus had informed him that Voldemort had assigned the boy to spy on the Order by getting close to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny; the most likely candidates for revealing information close to Phoenix Members as they were close to the boy's age and near enough to the Order to glean some information on them.

The teenage trio, though still grieving their missing friend, had dedicated themselves to help the Order find and destroy Voldemort in honor of Harry Potter. They were eager to do whatever they could to help and always jumped at opportunities presented to them.

With them now being of age and so enthusiastic to help, Dumbledore planned to give them the job of trying to turn Mr. Naito Koori to the light. He would give them information about the boy's mission, telling them to befriend him, circumspectly and without drawing attention, and gain his trust while trying to keep him from information about the Order. They would then try to sway him from his current beliefs and put him on the right path.

Dumbledore smiled serenely at the young man with black hair, his eyes twinkling benignly as he said, "Well, that is all I need to know for now. Thank you for meeting with me and I hope you have a pleasant and interesting year here at Hogwarts. You will receive your school letter in a few days. It will inform you of what supplies will be needed for each class so that you may attain them."

"Oh, I have no doubt that it will be interesting, Professor...of that I have _no _doubt," replied Naito, smiling back at the headmaster, or was it more of a smirk?

All three stood up and nodded to each other before Severus and Naito departed from the office.

"Very interesting indeed,'' Naito heard the old man mutter distantly as the door closed behind them.

Naito and Snape made it quickly back to the front gates, using the portkey to take them back to where Voldemort was waiting for them.

"How did it go, Severus? Naito?"

The two looked at each other before Naito turned back to the Dark Lord, smirking arrogantly, "I'm in."

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it and please review! You'd make my day!

**Coming Up: **_Naito meets some of his old friends and Malfoy almost blows his cover with them in Chapter 4: Meeting Others._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Una:** Thanks, Una-chan! You are awesome! Well, just for you, this song is Evanescence 2! You weren't shocked by the last chapter were you? I mean after all, it is the style I always go with, remember? TBCS? Of course it doesn't make any sense...until you get to the end...yeah, well, I figure there's only so much Remus can take before he finally snaps and...well, you see the result. LOL! That was hilarious...don't be too hard on Una, Yami...she just gets excited sometimes and lets go with her uncensored thoughts...lol. I wonder if anyone has noticed all of the major plot points that have been planted in all these chapters...how do you think Harry wound up w/Voldemort? (as in, Big V—pun on Big D, lol/cough cough/ I'm ok now—transporting Harry to his hide out) I'd love to hear your ideas.

**Dragon and Sword Master:** Why thank you, ever so much! Yes, I know I'm evil, but only in my writing. Other than that, I leave the evil stuff to Selina. Lol! Nice name...aww! That is so uncool! I hate it when FF.N goes wacky!

**Hazel-Beka: **Now, if I had _actually_ killed off Harry in the first chapter, it wouldn't be much of a story, now would it? (winces) I hope they're not doing anything too bad, I mean it _is _spring break—for me anyway. Well, there is that. Haha! I can imagine. My friend at school, Nicky, got ahold of this pic of Joey, he looks like he's doing ballet so my friend...tweaked it a bit and now he looks like a fairy in a tutu! It's hilarious! Yay, thank you! Oh, hey! Have you updated BTW? I've been gone so much lately I haven't checked, but I was thinking about it the other day and was wondering.

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** Have I sent you that email yet? If not, let me know & I'll work on that when I get back from my retreat. (I'll tell you about it too!) Hm...don't get too hasty! Not everything will be as it seems! (aint say'n no more'n den dat!) (snort) you wish...is it every that easy?

**LadayoftheWood: **You are pitiful...sheesh, I can't take you anywhere! Get to update'n gurl!

_I'd like to say a great big "THANK YOU" to my friend Jin for beta reading for me!_

_**Please Review!**_


	4. Meeting Others

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date: **January 18-Feburary 7, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N- **Judging from the lack of reviews I've had lately I can tell that you all are getting bored with my story...unfortunately this chapter doesn't have much excitement in it for you, but that's how it is with transition chapters. I just ask those of you that still remain to be patient and let me finish laying down plot points so that we can get to the good stuff.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Meeting Others

* * *

**

_I'm so tired of being here  
__Suppressed by all of my childish fears  
__And if you have to leave  
__I wish that you would just leave  
__Because your presence still lingers here  
__And it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal  
__This pain is just too real  
__There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
__When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
__And I've held your hand through all of these years  
__But you still have all of me_

_You used to captivate me  
__By your resonating light  
__But now I'm bound by the life you left behind  
__Your face, it haunts my once pleasant dreams  
__Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal  
__This pain is just too real  
__There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
__When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
__And I've held your hand through all of these years  
__But you still have all of me_

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone  
__Though you're still with me  
__I've been alone all along_

"_My Immortal" – Evanescence

* * *

_

Naito stepped onto the platform anxiously, happy to finally be heading off to Hogwarts by himself, although his outward expression gave nothing away. He had finally left Voldemort and his cronies behind (for the most part) when he had Apparated to King's Cross Train Station.

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was a flurry of activity as children ran around with their friends, said goodbye to their parents, and loaded their stuff on the train.

A loud, shrill whistle rang out above the cacophony of noise created by the chattering crowd, signaling that everyone should board the train if they did not wish to be left behind.

Naito got on quickly, not wanting to miss the train, and found a compartment occupied by only five people, three girls and two boys, two of group having flaming red hair and another with wavy brown. Knowing that these were the ones he was assigned to garner information from, Naito decided to acquaint himself with them.

Upon seeing the red-headed boy however, a voice filled his head, echoing distantly.

"_Anyone sitting there? Everywhere else is full."_

"_Hey, Ron," said another voice, vaguely similar to the one that had spoken before it._

"_Listen, we're going down the middle of the train—Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."_

"_Right," mumbled the first voice._

"_Harry," said a voice almost identical to the second voice that had spoken, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."_

_A compartment door shut._

Naito shook his head, wondering what had just happened and whose voices he had just heard. Snapping himself out of his musings, Naito knocked lightly on the compartment door, drawing the attention of everyone inside it.

"Excuse me," Naito muttered politely, "But do you mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is occupied to capacity."

Most of those in the cubicle blinked at him curiously, all except for a strange looking blonde with radish earrings.

The brunette girl broke the silence saying, "Yeah, come on in. Where are your things?"

Naito ignored the last comment, simply taking his shrunken trunk out of his pocket and returning it to its proper size before stuffing it onto the luggage rack and sitting down.

"Well, that answers that. My name is Ginny Weasley, this is Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and my brother Ron Weasley," the red-haired girl said indicating each person as she said their name.

Naito started when Ginny said, "my brother Ron Weasley." It was almost exactly like that strange voice in his head. What was going on? Was he receiving some sort of premonition?

"My name is Naito Koori," Naito responded, shaking her proffered hand.

Hermione started the conversation up with, "What year are you going to be in? You don't look like a first year, but I don't believe I've ever seen you at Hogwarts before."

"No, I'll be attending my last year here, but this will be my first time at Hogwarts."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I used to be taught at home by my parents, but they were both killed in an attack by Voldemort. I was sent to live with my Squib uncle and his Muggle wife and this was the only way to complete my education."

All of them looked at him, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"You said Voldemort's name; not many people do."

"That's because most people are afraid of him."

"And you're not?"

"No," Naito growled at Ron, "he killed my parents and I'm going to make sure he pays for what he's taken from me."

Technically, Voldemort had not taken his parents, but Naito was still very resentful of his only friend being taken from him, despite the fact that it had been a house elf.

When Naito had first come into Voldemort's service the year before, he had been very defiant for some odd reason (still was if he really thought about it), as if something was imbued in his personality that did not take well with his master, and was usually punished mercilessly.

Unable to do more than crawl back to his room, Naito began to hate everyone around him except for the house elf that would always nurse him back to health, showing him the compassion no one else would. It did not take long before they became good friends; so much so that Shrinket would even come play with Naito whenever he had a little bit of free time.

Then he began to learn Occlumency and Legilimency...

After reading Naito's mind, Voldemort had Shrinket tortured then killed right in front of Naito before he too was punished to remind him that any creature or person not a complete wizard was beneath him and should be treated as such.

He remembered that torture well...

_His back arched in pain, as he screamed causing his arm to strain against the restraints that bound him, his fingertips digging into his hands so that rivets of blood flowed from his palms to join the streams forming at his wrists, where the shackles cut into his skin...and then the whip came crashing down again...and again._

Wincing internally in remembrance, Naito shook himself out of his musings when Hermione asked, "Well, what N.E.W.T classes are you going to be taking?"

Everyone in the group smiled at the girl, rolling their eyes, shaking their heads at her, or both, giving Naito the impression that this was a very schoolwork oriented girl.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Herbology, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures," Naito replied casually.

Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement as she clapped her hands together enthusiastically and gushed, "Really! Me too! But I've also got Arithmancy. Maybe we'll have a bunch of classes together!"

"Maybe we will, although I expect the sorting will decide that. From what I've heard about it, what house you are in decides who you have classes with."

"Oh, not this year! Once you get into the N.E.W.T. level classes you have classes with everyone that made it into that same class in your year."

"Really?" Naito prodded with a hint of a smile. Why was he so comfortable with this group of friends? It was almost as if he had spent his whole life around them. This was a problem; these were the ones that the Dark Lord had sent him to spy on.

Sure he was supposed to befriend them, but only to suit the Dark Lord's plans, he should not genuinely _want_ to make friends with them. So why did they make him feel like he had found his missing home?

The boy named Neville interrupted his thoughts by saying, "Yes. I'm sure you're going to love it at Hogwarts. There's no other place like it."

"And we'll be there to help you with anything you need, no matter what house you're in," blurted Ginny sincerely.

"Unless it's Slytherin," muttered Ron, earning an elbow in the ribs from Hermione.

"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Naito asked in a challenging tone.

"It's the house Voldemort was in. Most of the students that are sorted into Slytherin go bad."

"Some, but not all; besides, Slytherin isn't the only house to turn out bad wizards I hear."

It seemed they had nothing to say to that as Ginny, Hermione, and Ron all gave each other knowing looks. So they knew about Pettigrew; it was true. Ganmou had told him some details of the Golden Trio's lives and exploits of their first few years at Hogwarts.

"Well, if you do end up in Slytherin, just don't go making friends with someone like Malfoy," jibbed Ron.

Naito raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't take very kindly to those that try to tell me who I should and shouldn't befriend."

Ron's face lit up like the morning sky and his ears turned the same brilliant shade of red as his hair at this comment before Naito continued.

"If I were you, I wouldn't judge every single person I come across just by their outward appearance or projected personality. Not everyone is what they seem to be and it could just be that some people have no choice in which house they are placed in and just have to flow with the tide."

"What do you mean by that? How can someone be forced into a house they don't want?"

"Do you really think all families are kind and loving all the time? Some children are punished for simply no reason at all and if they don't get into the house their parents want for them, they could get in trouble. Despite the fact that they would rather be somewhere else, they must enter the house their parents have chosen for them and just go with it or suffer the consequences."

"What are you talking about? It sounds almost as if the Sorting Hat doesn't decide at all which house you're sorted into," questioned Ginny with a confused expression.

"Yes, it sorts you, but it can be influenced...kind of persuaded as you could say."

"But it's a highly magical object! Nobody should be able to tamper with it."

Naito sighed, was all of Hogwarts this slow and dimwitted?

"Not hoodwinked. I'm talking about the person who's being sorted. The Sorting Hat sees everything in your head I'm told and can see your memories and desires. If it knows you'd rather not risk the wrath of your parents for something as trivial as the name of your house and the colors you wear on your robes."

"Trivial! Your house determines who your friends are! Whether you win the house cup or not!"

Naito rolled his eyes in annoyance; this was getting out of hand!

"Are you saying that you cannot make friends with those in other houses and does it really matter when you enter your career whether you won the House Cup or not?"

"No. I guess not, but can you really persuade the Sorting Hat to put you in the house you want to go in?"

"Why are you asking me? I haven't even been sorted yet."

"Well, for not being sorted, you sure seem to know a lot about it!" Ginny said hotly. "So does it?" she asked in a somewhat milder tone.

"Yes," replied Hermione blushing slightly. "The sorting hat wanted to place me in Ravenclaw, but I said I'd rather go in Gryffindor."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, at the Muggle school I attended I was really studious and made good grades..."

The expressions on the other's faces told him that they had not expected any less.

"...but I didn't really have any friends; I just wanted the chance to make some."

Ginny smiled at Hermione wistfully before turning back to Naito and saying, "I guess I can see what you're talking about. But it doesn't matter which house you end up in. I'll be your friend if you want me to."

_Bloody noble Gryffindors! This is going to be easier than I thought._

Hermione and Ron glanced at each other, each shooting the other a look stating clearly—that's not good. Naito did not need any special spy training to tell that.

_Hm...so maybe not quite so easy, but not too hard nonetheless._

"So, what sort of careers is everyone interested in?"

"Well, I want to be a Herbologist since I'm really good at Herbology and I've already begun some independent crossbreeding between species. I've ended up with some really interesting results," said Neville excitedly.

"I'm going to help my daddy work on the Quibbler. I've already done a bunch of work on it, but once I'm out of school, I'll be able to attain a position," Luna commented lightly in a vague I-don't-have-a-care-in-the-world kind of voice that earned a raised eyebrow from Naito.

"I'm not quite sure what I want to do," declared Ginny indecisively. "I think I might study to become a Healer though."

"I want to become an Auror. Harry and I were—well...never mind. I just want to be an Auror." Ron's face fell as he turned to look out the window no longer saying anything.

The mood in the compartment was stifled and no one started talking again until the lunch trolley came by and even then there was not much said.

When they had almost reached the Hogsmeade Train Station, the compartment door swung open to admit Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A bunch of Gryffidorks in mourning over their dead friend, eh? I don't particularly know why you would miss him—waste of space as I always said."

Naito watched as Hermione and Neville held Ron back from tackling Malfoy. Naito inwardly smirked as he placed a calculating and cold expression on his face; this could be used to his advantage. If he played his cards right, he might just get the Gryffindors to trust him a little more.

Standing up, Naito looked Draco straight in the eyes. Draco backed up a step and gasped; he had not noticed Naito's presence until just then, but it was obvious from his reaction that his father had told him all about Voldemort's protégé.

_That_ was not good.

Naito sneered at the boy and said in a slow, dangerous growl, "If you are simply here for a fight, I suggest you leave. I do not take kindly to those that simply barge in without being invited to enter. Now, leave."

Those in the room other than Malfoy, his goons, and Naito expected Draco to lash out at this stranger that was commanding him to leave, but he was still so shocked that he simply nodded jerkily, eyes wide and expression gaping before turning to leave, Crabbe and Goyle trailing stupidly behind.

Everyone gazed at Naito in awe and confusion as he calmly resumed his seat as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"What?" he asked them curiously; they all shook their heads and closed their mouths before they started unloading their trunks as the train came to a stop in Hogsmeade Station.

"How do you know Malfoy?" Ron asked him as he got off the train.

"Most pureblooded families know who other pureblooded families are. Malfoy and I know each other because both of our fathers are, or were, very influential people in places of power in their countries. That obviously means they had business dealings with each other, thus his son and I also interacted. We were playmates whenever their family came to do business."

"So why did he seem scared of you if you were such great playmates? What does he think of you now that you live with your uncle?"

"As we got older, instead of simply playing, we would duel each other-"

"What do you mean, 'duel each other?' We're not supposed to use magic out of school!"

"Maybe not in England, but in Japan, we have different laws than you do."

"Oh."

"Anyways, we would duel each other and I would always beat him. I don't think he was expecting me to be coming and I'm sure it would be quite a surprise. He's probably worried that I'll bring something up like one of the more humiliating defeats he's suffered from me. He's also probably worried about me invading his territory."

"Hm."

"So do you speak Japanese? Your English seems impeccable to me. You don't even have an accent."

"Yes, I do speak Japanese, but my father taught me English as well. Once I got older, my father got busier and I was sent to stay with my uncle here during the summer when my mother wasn't teaching me.

"What most people don't know is that even though my uncle was cast out of the family for being a Squib, him and his brother—my father—were always on very good speaking terms with each other.

"When my uncle was thrown out of the family at seventeen, he moved here and got a job, so obviously he knew how to speak English. The thing is, he never spoke anything except English in his house after moving here. He never spoke Japanese after he left while he was surrounded by those that spoke only English. Soon the language became dead to him and he only spoke English, so I had to become proficient at it because that was the only language I spoke while I was with him.

"Besides I've had since the end of last school year to get rid of my accent, as my parents died right before I was going to take my end of the year exams."

"Right," was all Ron said after that and casually slipped away to join Hermione on the platform.

Naito was relieved however; Ron seemed to accept what he was saying as the truth. That had been one of the biggest lies he had ever told; it was a good thing he had picked up some Japanese from Ganmou. He was not very good, but he could say a few phrases and words.

As he stepped into one of the Thestral Driven carriages, he heard Ron tell Hermione behind him everything he had just gotten done saying before telling her that he did not believe a word of it.

"Why was he even hanging out in our compartment? Why wasn't he out playing with his little Slytherin friends?"

"Don't you remember what Dumbledore told us? This is Voldemort's apprentice, he's trying to spy on the Order and the best way to do that is through us! I don't think Malfoy looks anything like you or I so of course he'd be where we are instead of the other Slytherins.

"Remember, it's our job to make sure he doesn't learn any useful information about the Order that he can report back to Voldemort and to try and get him on our side. Dumbledore said he wasn't quite sure if he was actually one-hundred percent loyal to Voldemort so we have to make friends with him and try to turn him."

Naito smirked to himself as he got into a carriage by himself.

So, Dumbledore knew what he was here to do, did he? Naito frowned thoughtfully as he wondered how he knew about his loyalties. Dumbledore had not broken through his Occlumency shield, Naito was sure of that; he would have felt it had that been the case. No, maybe it was something much simpler, something most would not think about, or just not want to think about...or a someone.

Was there a spy among Voldemort's chosen? If so then who was it and how close were they to the Dark Lord? How did they get their information to the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry without the Dark Lord knowing.

_Hm_, Naito thought to himself, _who do I know that has connections like that?...Snape! Of course, but I'll need proof. I just need to keep an eye on him._

With that thought in mind, Naito approached the castle, entering with all of the other upperclassmen to stand in front of the Head Table.

Waiting for the new first years to enter and be sorted, Naito looked around curiously, as he had not entered the Great Hall when he was brought here before. The ceiling had to be enchanted to look like the sky outside because it was dark and little stars could be seen through the clouds.

It was then, during the scrutiny of his surroundings, that an oddly familiar voice came to him, saying, _"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."_

Naito was startled out of his vision, similar to the one he had had on the train—_What was that!_—by Dumbledore's introduction of him.

Idly, Naito noticed that all the first years had already been sorted. He had not been out of it that long, had he? What was going on with him?

Pasting a casual stoic expression on his face, Naito stepped over to the stool and placed the hat on his head as the Headmaster indicated.

It was not long before a voice spoke in his ear:

"_Well, well, well. This is a surprise...you don't even know what you are missing!"_

"_Well, then tell me!" _Naito thought fiercely in agitation. What _was_ the dumb hat muttering about!

"_I'm afraid I cannot reveal that to you. The unveiling of your mind must be done by you yourself. I am unable to interfere," _the all-knowing voice said, only increasing Naito's temper.

"_Well, can you at least tell me what you are talking about!"_

"_No, you will come to know in due time...it has already begun. The memories of your past are resurfacing as you reenter familiar territory. I wish you good luck in finding yourself. Always remember, you have a choice of how you want to live your life. Choose wisely. Now, I believe you finally wish for me to sort you into..._Slytherin!" the hat exclaimed to the entire room.

Naito, stunned by the hat's words, listlessly and thoughtlessly took a seat at the Slytherin table beside Malfoy, not even noticing as the platters in front of him filled with food, nor the intense stares he was receiving from the Headmaster, half the staff, and a majority of the students, too deep was he in his thoughts.

_What did the hat mean by "the unveiling of your mind?" Hm...was "the memories of your past are resurfacing" referring to the two visions he'd had just that very day? And because he was "reentering familiar territory?" Did that mean in his past, before he had lost his memories, he had somehow been to Hogwarts?_

_What had happened in his past? And how had he come to stay with the Dark Lord? He had never been told...Why couldn't he remember!_

Naito hardly paid enough attention to what was happening around him to eat anything; he did, albeit not much.

Draco startled him out of his musings by elbowing him in the side discreetly and telling him it was time to go to their dormitories.

"So, you're You-Know-Who's apprentice?" Draco started out excitedly.

Naito glared at the blonde forcefully.

"That is not for you to discuss where others may be privy to the conversation. You may believe you are safe from prying ears, but let me assure you...no place is completely safe of eavesdroppers. At the _very_ _least_, you should put up a silencing charm!"

Draco looked taken aback by Naito's fierceness, but quickly recovered himself, saying, "What makes you think I didn't?"

"I have my ways. Luckily for you, I put up a silencing charm as soon as you opened your mouth."

"HOW! I didn't even see you lift your wand!"

"Not every wizard needs a wand to cast spells, Malfoy."

Draco looked disgruntled, but said in a drawling tone, "Yeah, well, back to what I said before-"

"Yes, I am and yes, your father is one of my teachers, which is how I deduce you know so much about me?"

"Yes."

"Hm, thought so."

They were both silent on the way to the dormitories, Draco was too afraid to risk more conversation and Naito was too lost in his thoughts to care.

The silence was finally broken when they came to the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Basilisk Fang," Draco muttered before giving a grand sweep of his arm at the room before them. "The Slytherin Common Room. I hope it is to your liking?"

Naito raised an eyebrow at the boy beside him and the way he was being treated like a king. Shaking his head, knowing it was not important, Naito looked around only to be bombarded by another vision.

"_Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them," said a voice intriguingly similar to Malfoy's scornfully. "You'd never know the Weasleys were pure-bloods, the way they behave."_

"_What's up with you, Crabbe?"_

"_Stomachache," said one of the voices from his first vision before everything faded away, back to the present._

Naito shook his head, trying to clear it. This was getting ridiculous. Maybe it was the stress or anxiety of the day, but what ever it was, Naito hoped it would go away by tomorrow. He was already going to have enough fun as it was.

Brushing past Draco and interrupting his monologue, Naito entered the Sixth Year Boys dorms and quickly fell into bed, hoping for a quiet, dreamless sleep.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Well, that didn't exactly turn out as good as I would have liked, but I always have had trouble with transition chapters and this chapter is no exception. Oh, well, what can I say besides I tried my best. Please review! Any and almost all comments are welcome, even constructive critism! Please share your thoughts with me...you know you want to...

**Coming Up:** _The first day of school is never easy, especially not for a new transfer student when his new friend Draco gives him grief for becoming friends with Gryffindors in Chapter 5: A New Beginning._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Amones of Magic:** Why thank you! I'm glad you think so! I'm so glad you reviewed! I hope you like my story enough to continue. Don't worry, by the end, everyone will know what they have been missing the entire time. Of course they have to figure it out first. Thank you and I'm glad you liked them...I've always thought it was rather cool when I read it in other stories, but I've never found a good, logical reason for Harry being able to become different animals so I came up with one myself. Hm...I hadn't really planned on showing THAT much about Remus, but I'll see what I can work in. I've got a set plot, but I'll try to work around that.

**Hazel-Beka: **He's not going to be a guy Mary-Sue! I didn't mean to portray him that way, but he needed those powers for spying and getting around unnoticed...the other things Moldywarts taught him. (blushes) I forgot about the email alerts.

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** You have SO figured that plot point out...Eep! Good thing I haven't ever seen you mad yet...at me at least.


	5. A New Beginning

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date: **January 28, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N- **I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to update next weekend. I'll have to do it the week after that and may have to continue doing this for a while until I am able to overcome my busy schedule and get more chapters written.

* * *

**Chapter 5: A New Beginning

* * *

**

_You think I've got it all  
Everyone thinks I've got it made  
Well, how come my only friends are the ones I pay?_

_No one understands  
What I would do  
To change my life  
For just one day_

_Don't say "If I was you"  
Or tell me what to do  
How things would be  
If you were in my shoes  
Cuz, you're not me_

_"If I Was You" -? (It's from the YGO movie)

* * *

_

Naito awoke early morning at five like he had for the past year while staying at the Dark Lord's manor. Looking out the window, Naito noticed that the sun was not even peaking up over the horizon and wondered why he had never been permitted to sleep in if the sun was allowed to.

Knowing that it would not be prudent to practice his advanced magic where others may see, Naito knew he would have to continue getting up early to avoid any that might be watching.

The adults, like Dumbledore and Order members, would be harder to avoid, but could be done if Naito was careful. All that was needed were the right concealment spells and distractions...hopefully.

Naito could not foul this up or he knew that he would be severely punished, as the Dark Lord _despised_ failure and punished anyone that did not carry out his wishes according to plan harshly.

Donning his regular black and gray clothing underneath his school attire, Naito left the dorms and exited the common room, exploring the castle as he made his way back to the Great Hall.

Several of the paintings he passed were snoring in their frames, as it was early morning, but others were whispering to their neighbors as he walked by them and Naito wondered if he could really accomplish this mission.

Naito sighed, knowing he would not be able to get anything done by worrying about it and continued on, leaving the castle and strolling out onto the grounds. Frowning at the openness, knowing that he could be seen by anyone looking out of one of the tower's windows, Naito resolved to find a better place to train...later.

Right now he had some exercises to do.

Starting with usual stretches, Naito moved on to push ups and sit ups as well as some other warm up exercises before beginning his martial art practices.

Naito started his martial arts' exercises with katas, which he practiced around the deserted Quidditch pitch, his movements fluid and dexterous with a liquid grace. His stances and actions were perfected from multiple honed practices.

After completing that, Naito walked over to one of the castle walls and cast a Duel Wall Reflection Shield on the outside wall so that he could duel himself.

Raising his wand, the training began. A blue substance jetted out from its tip, shooting toward the wall, only to be propelled back by a barrier invisible to the human eye.

The force prompted the water spell to increase its speed and with the growing agility, it soon came nearer to where Naito stood, carrying a breath of heated air about its sapphire glow. However, it never collided into its target. Naito had evaded the spell by simply performing a back flip. The blue glow dissolved in the shadowed forest behind him but its presence was not missed as Naito, with a swift lift of his hand, replaced blue with a silver spark.

"Accio rock," Naito murmured while pointing to a solitary rock, causing it to fly toward the spell caster. Three fourth of the distance, the rock met the silver to form a small blast of explosion that unless in the proximity of 6 yards, it could not be heard by any wizard.

Deciding to speed things up a little, Naito deftly cast a Leg-Locker Curse, closely followed by another jet of water and some other minor hexes.

The first curse came hurtling back faster than Naito anticipated and caught Naito unawares. He stumbled and fell over, just in time to see the water and other curses flying towards him.

Naito rolled out of the way of the water and quickly transformed into a bird to fly away from the other spells. Once he had a moment, he cast a _Finite_ at the curse binding his legs and stood up.

After he finally finished and worked up a good sweat, Naito checked his watch and saw that he would have just enough time to take a shower and eat a quick breakfast before he would need to head off to his classes...

_Wait a minute! Since when do I know when classes start! I've never been here before!_

With a frustrated groan, Naito jogged back to the castle and down to the dungeons to the Slytherin dorms to take his shower.

Feeling refreshed and clean, Naito strolled out of the bathroom, droplets of water falling from his hair, catching the light from the lamps and making them sparkle.

Naito scrubbed his head with a towel to dry off as Draco came sauntering into the room, his hair slicked back with gel and a smug look on his face.

"So..." Draco drawled almost lazily as he sat down on the bed across from Naito.

"So," Naito quipped back.

"Were you really trained by the Dark Lord himself? I put silencing spells up this time, not that you really have anything to worry about down here in Slytherin."

Naito glared at the blonde aristocrat; of course there could be spies down here in Slytherin...what did the idiot think he was? "There are eyes and ears everywhere you go, Draco. You would do well to remember that, but as I know for a fact that no one is here at the moment except for us-"

"How do you know that?"

Naito glowered at Draco for the interruption, "I have my ways, but as I was _trying _to say...Yes, I was trained by the Dark Lord, your father, and a few others in the Inner Circle. I'm on a mission so if you hear _anything_ at all about anything from anyone, be it Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, or even your own father...I want to be made aware of it immediately. If I succeed, we will win and no one will dare to oppose us. Are you with me?"

Draco looked hesitant for a moment, probably not wanting to reveal anything his father might tell him, but finally he came to a decision and said, "Sure."

"Good, now I won't have to _Obliviate_ you."

Draco's eyes widened at this and he shouted, "WHAT!"

Naito merely raised an amused eyebrow in the blonde boy's direction. "I believe it is time to go eat, don't you agree?" Naito said casually, throwing his towel onto the duvet and stalking past Malfoy out the door.

Draco fell quickly into step behind him and the two of them exited the Slytherin dorms, heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Sitting down at a half filled table, the duo piled their plates with food that had already been set out for the students and began to eat.

Crabbe and Goyle came in not a moment later, elbowing everyone out of their way as they headed for the table and sat down beside Draco, inhaling the food as if it were nothing but air. Naito was appalled at their lack of manners and it took McGonagall tapping him on the shoulder to hand him his class schedule to snap him out of it.

"Thank you, Professor," he said as he gazed down at it, missing the surprised expression that crossed her face.

"What have you got, Nate?" asked Draco energetically.

Naito glared at him fiercely and growled, "My _name_ is _Naito_, not _Nate_. Please refrain from calling me that in the future."

"Yeah, sure, whatever, so what did you get?"

Naito sighed in exasperation; Draco's exuberance was getting on his nerves very quickly.

"I have Potions and then Care of Magical Creatures today...I also have-" that was as far as Naito got before Draco grabbed the schedule out of his hands in impatience and looking it over for himself.

Rolling his eyes, Naito gathered his things, preparing to go to Potions as Draco hastily copied him so he would not get lost.

"Crabbe, Goyle, come on, we're going to Potions."

"Can't," one of them grunted.

Draco turned to look at them, owl-like eyes blinking furiously. "What do you mean you _can't!_"

"O.W.L."

"What blasted owl?"

"Results..."

"Oh, you didn't get the grade? But it's Professor Snape, why didn't he let you in? Never mind, you can tell me later; we've got to go or we're going to be late. Come on, Nate."

"_Don't_ call me that."

Draco just ignored the black-haired boy and continued on in the direction of the dungeons. As it was, they arrived two minutes early and had to stand outside the classroom with the others that would be in N.E.W.T. level Potions...including one Hermione Granger.

"Hello, Hermione," Naito said politely while Draco gaped at him.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the blonde and replied with a similar greeting. When the Malfoy heir regained control of himself, he dragged Naito away to a safe distance and hissed, "_What_ are you doing, talking to that _Mudblood_!"

"I believe you just answered your own question; I was talking to her."

"Ok, but _why!_"

"Because we became friends on the train coming here."

"You _what!_"

Of course, Naito had not really become friends with the girl, not that he did not want to, but no one else was supposed to know that. After all, he could not let it get out that he knew they were spying on him while he attempted to spy on them. This was going to be fun, Naito thought wryly.

"I said-" Naito began, only to be interrupted as Professor Snape came striding past and opened the door so that everyone rushed in.

Naito chose as seat directly beside Hermione so they would be at the same table and Draco, throwing a confused, suspicious glance his way, would have to pair up with Pansy at the table beside them in the back.

"Instructions are on the board," Snape said after a five minute tirade about the importance of the N.E.W.T.'s, "you may begin."

"So are you happy to be back?" Naito whispered, as a way to open a conversation and dig for information.

"Yes," she said primly. "How was your first night at the castle?"

"A bit confusing at first, but I'm adjusting. Thanks for asking. Did you do anything interesting this summer?"

"Not particularly. I went on holiday with my parents and visited some friends."

Naito watched her carefully as she spoke and noticed her eyes dart towards Professor Snape as she said the last then back down to her caldron.

Was the Professor involved somehow with this "get together?" Was she talking about the Order? After all, the Death Eater spy was a member of the Order and slipped information to the Dark Lord. Naito would have to find out more.

"Did you have fun hanging out with your friends?"

"Yes, Fred and George, Ron's older twin brothers, are pranksters and kept us all laughing."

"Hm...and Ginny is also in Ron's family, isn't she?" At Hermione's nod he continued, "so I take it Ron has a big family?"

"Oh yes, he has five older brothers that have all graduated and Ginny, she's the only girl."

"Were they all there?"

"Yes, they came home for the holidays." On second thought she added, "Well, actually one of them wasn't—Percy and the rest of the family had a row and are no longer speaking, so it would be best not to mention him to Ron or Ginny."

Naito nodded and said curiously, "Came home? Where do they normally live?"

"Well, Bill's a curse breaker for Gringotts stationed in Egypt and Charlie studies dragons in Romania. The twins own a joke shop called Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley and Percy works for the Ministry of Magic."

"Interesting..."

"So how about you?"

"Hm?"

"What did you do this summer?"

Naito plastered a crestfallen look on his face as he replied morosely, "We had a funeral...I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."

Hermione looked a bit put out, but covered with a pitying look. Naito knew she was fishing for information on Voldemort, trying to figure out what he was doing, but he was giving nothing away unless there was something in it for him. Until he knew he would be better off on their side than his current one, he would not help them take his Master down.

Of course, he could not just let Voldemort win this war either...once he was lord over everything, Naito would no longer be of service and would be disposed of. He had to make sure that when this was all over and done with, he would be able to live freely by himself.

"What do you miss most about them?" asked Hermione quietly, trying to trap him in his lie.

Naito gave a sigh and said, "The way they would look at me when I made them proud."

Well, it was not really a lie...sort of. Ganmou might not have been his father, but he had taken him in, named him, and trained him when he lost his memories over a year ago. While those looks of pride were few and far between, Naito was ecstatic every time he saw that look directed at him.

Knowing that Hermione was doing some fishing of her own, he was about to steer conversation back towards her summer, but Professor Snape walked by examining potions and halted all communication.

It stayed that way until the bell ending class signaled and they all packed away their books and ingredients and headed off for their next class. In Naito's case, this was Care of Magical Creatures, which he suspected would be shared with both Ron and Hermione, not to mention Draco who seemed to be suspicious of his interaction with the Gryffindors.

As soon as everyone began to leave the classroom, Draco accosted him at his table and began to drag him away to a safer place to talk.

"What do you think you are _doing!_ I know you said you became friends with them, but _Slytherins_ don't _make_ _friends_ with _Gryffindors_."

"Apparently they do now," Naito replied curtly, his demeanor as hard, stiff, and unyielding as ice as he began walking down the hallway.

Draco pulled his arm back and spun Naito to face him, his mouth opening to utter and ultimatum, but Naito jerked his arm from Draco's grasp and growled, "What I do is no concern of yours Draco Malfoy. I have a job to do and I intend to get it done, now get out of my way and do _your_ job."

With that, Naito spun and stalked away fuming, leaving Draco to stand, gaping like a fish after him.

By the time Naito made it down to Hagrid's hut for the start of class, a group of Gryffindor students were clumped together, talking in hushed whispers and glancing every now and then in his direction.

Just as the half-giant Hagrid came striding into view, Draco managed to catch up to him and whisper and curious, "How'd you know to come here? It's only your first day of school."

Naito opened his mouth to offer a witty retort, but held back as, with a jolt, he realized that he _had_ made it to the right place without anyone telling him where to go.

His feet had automatically and mechanically brought him here of their own accord as if the territory was so familiar that his legs needed no instruction from his brain.

What_ was going on with him? Why did he keep having these strange visions or memories—whatever they were—what did all of this _mean

Something odd was going on and Naito intended to discover what it was.

Resolving to get to the bottom of whatever weird occurrence was going on, Naito turned his focus outward on the teacher and what he was saying.

"Alright now, I got summat interesting fer'ya today. Something I think yer all going ter like."

The class gave a collective groan at these words and Naito wondered what they knew that he did not.

"Now this critter was a little hard to git ahold of as they're hard to take care of-"

At this the class began backing up, Hagrid looked to them all in bewilderment.

"Now 'tis nuttin to be afraid of. Who can tell me what an Ashwinder is? Hermione?" Hagrid asked as the girl in question gave a great sigh of relief.

In a pompous, haughty tone (in Naito's opinion) she began to recite, "An ashwinder is a thin pale-grey serpent with glowing red eyes; it will rise from the embers of an unsupervised fire and leaves an ashy trail behind it. Ashwinders only live for an hour and will lay brilliant red eggs that give off intense heat that can be used in Love Potions once they are frozen or eaten whole as a cure for ague."

"Very good, 'Mione. Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, I only got one of 'em as, like I said before, they're sorta hard to git. So everyone gather 'round and write down yer observations on the little critter and I want a five foot long essay to be handed in on Monday. Now git to it."

With that he plunked a case down in front of them, popped open the lid, and left them to their own devices as he walked over to the side and watched the class write out notes.

Naito noticed that while they waited for a chance to get near the Ashwinder, Hermione and Ron walked over to Hagrid to talk. Carefully, Naito inched in that direction so he could listen to what they were saying without it being obvious.

"So what do ya think of the lesson, 'Mione?"

"It's very good, Hagrid, but I suspect that it'll get harder as we go along as it is our N.E.W.T. year."

"Yeah, you guessed right," replied Hagrid as Ron groaned, "I always knew you where perceptive. A bit too much if ya were ta ask me."

"Yeah," Hermione murmured, her countenance falling.

"Now don't go doing that to yerself, 'Mione. Harry wouldn't'a wanted ya ter be cry'n over him."

"I know, Hagrid," Hermione said, her eyes misty and glistening with unshed tears, "but I can't stop missing him. He didn't deserve it! What did he ever do to them! Why were they always after him, trying to kill him! Harry was such a wonderful person...why-"

At this she had to break off as her voice choked up with grief and her tears manifested themselves. Hagrid gathered the girl up in his arms in a firm hug as Ron looked towards the forest, discreetly wiping at his eyes while neither of them were looking.

"Shh," Hagrid soothed, "there's nuttin fer it, 'Mione. Harry was the sort of person that never backed down without a fight. That's what You-Know-Who didn't like about him. Harry gave us all the hope that there was something worth fight'n fer. You-Know-Who had to get rid of the Light side's symbol to cripple us, but we won't let his death be fer nuttin.

"The way I sees it, we can either give up and let Harry's sacrifice be in vain or we can follow his example and never back down even when there seems to be no more hope. You can do that can't ya? Jus 'member, Harry would have wanted ya to grow up happy, get married to Ron, and have a cupple'a kids..."

"WHAT!" Hermione yelped, blushing bright red as Ron's head whipped around to stare at the two of them in shock.

"What did you just say, Hagrid?"

"Uh...nuttin. I didn't say a word, now why don't you two jus run 'long and take yer notes now...that's a good girl."

And just like that, the moment was broken. Naito frowned in disappointment; that had not been very informative, but there was always hope for another day...

With that, Naito gathered together his quill, ink, and parchment and began to take notes.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Sorry that was so boring and inactive...I really don't like writing transitional or informational chapters. They're hard to write and annoying to read, but you have to get the essentials so...

**Coming Up: **_Naito begins researching the Orb of Souls, but doesn't get very far as he overhears Ron and Hermione talking about the DA. After getting invited, Naito intends to do some investigated about this group only to be studied by Hermione as get into a duel and an Order meeting hosts an unnoticed visitor in Chapter 6: From the Outside In._

_**Review Responses:**_

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** (sighs in relief) good...I wish I could control Selina instead of the other way around...of course she mostly listens to me (unless she just goes off on her own, but sometimes she gets the better of me when I least expect it. Smokegirl, I agree w/your choices! You've got good taste! Oh, goody! I like you too! (glomps back)

**Hazel-Beka:** Hm...I'll try not to, but he may seem like it at times...if he does...remind me and I'll work on it! I would love to publish stories I write, but then I'd have to take time off of writing this! Besides, I'd have to come up w/an idea first.

**Evaisy: **Hello to you! I'm glad you like my story! I hope that you will continue to review as well! Thank you so much for your comments! Here's the next chapter for you!

**Nicky:** Took you long enough! But I know you were having just too much fun w/the originals...those can get a bit addictive. After all, I've read all of them except for the fifth one over twenty times a piece, no joke. The fifth one I've only read 3 times so far. Hah! That lama training camp thing really was funny! Hm...you found out about metamorphmagi in the 5th book so I'm sure you understand that now...hey, don't count Naito out of the running yet. They may know he's a spy, but they don't know how he spies...

**Jin:** You're name's at the bottom, because nobody ever reads my author's notes at the top from what I can tell and this way, everyone will see it! They have to when they review! You are so funny! I love it! Thanks for the compliments!

**LadayoftheWood:** I have three words for you...you are a dork. (yes, I said that on purpose)

**Idunn0:** Thanks for reviewing, Matt, but I'm afraid you're a dork too. It did make me laugh though, unfortunately Melissa wasn't here and couldn't give you a snort point.

_**Important Notice! If you did not read my A/N at the top, I suggest you do so now!**_

I'd like to thank my beta reader **Jin Cheng** for doing such a good job and helping me write this chapter! You did a great job **Jin Cheng**! I love you, **Jin Cheng**!

(There you are, three times in bold, just like I promised...your turn now.)


	6. From the Outside In

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** February 10-24, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Sorry for making you all wait, but I'm getting a bit behind on my writing cuz my schedule is getting busier. Sorry, but for now, it looks like every other week updates are going to be put into effect until I can find more time to write.

* * *

**Chapter 6: From the Outside In

* * *

**

_And you,  
__You bring me to my knees, again,  
__All the times  
__That I could beg you please, in vain  
__All the times  
__That I felt insecure, for you  
__And I leave  
My burdens at the door_

_But I'm on the outside  
__I'm looking in  
__I can see through you  
__See your true colors  
__Cause inside you're ugly  
__You're ugly like me  
__I can see through you  
__See to the real you_

_All the times that I felt like this won't end  
__It's for you  
__And I taste what I could never have  
__It was from you  
__All the times that I've cried  
__My intentions, fully of pride  
__But I waste more time than anyone_

_But I'm on the outside  
__And I'm looking in  
__I can see through you  
__See your true colors  
__Cause inside you're ugly  
__You're ugly like me  
__I can see through you  
__See to the real you_

_All the times that I've cried  
__All this wasted, it's all inside  
__And I feel, all this pain  
__I stuffed it down, it's back again  
__And I lie, here in bed  
__All alone, I can't mend  
__But I feel  
__Tomorrow will be ok_

_But I'm on the outside  
__And I'm looking in  
__I can see through you  
__See your true colors  
__Cause inside you're ugly  
__You're ugly like me  
__I can see through you  
__See to the real you_

"_Outside" - Staind

* * *

_

The first day of school at Hogwarts had been relatively normal, or what seemed to pass for normal at the school anyway, but Naito was dissatisfied. Hermione Granger had been in all of his classes that Monday, and though he had talked to her, he had found no substantial information pertaining to the Order of the Phoenix.

He had thought, at first, that with his spying capabilities, even knowing that she knew what he was up to, that he would be able to make the Gryffindor girl spill a few secrets at least, but he had not.

She was a whole lot smarter than he had at first given her credit for; she would definitely prove to be a challenge, but then again, Naito liked challenges—to an extent.

The red-headed boy on the other hand had been quite easy to manipulate, not noticing the subtleties that Naito used on him. He seemed to be an "act first, ask questions later" sort and Naito hoped that he would be able to draw out information from Ron if he could not draw out of Hermione at least.

Naito had spent the rest of the day after classes exploring the castle for a safe place to practice his training. The Dark Lord had told him how to access the Chamber of Secrets, but Naito planned to use it only as a last resort. He was looking for a room that would be better suited to his needs.

At the moment though, Naito was in the library, researching magical objects, hoping to find some kind of lead on the Orb of Souls. If he could even just figure out _what_ the blasted thing was he would be happy.

He had spent most of the afternoon after his evening classes looking for books that might harbor _some_ kind of information on the mysterious object. So far he had looked through half of _Interesting Items_ and had taken out of the school library _Odd Objects_, _Rare Relics_, and _Ancient Artifacts_ to read later.

With everything he had checked so far, there had not even been a _hint_ of information about the Orb of Souls, but apparently, Voldemort knew everything about the elusive sphere except its current location.

Well, if worst came down to worse, Naito reasoned, he could always sneak into the Dark Lord's sanctum and make a copy of whatever book he had on the subject. It would be extremely risky, but that was why it was Naito's last resort.

Naito looked up from his book to see Ron and Hermione conversing quietly at the table in the corner of the room. Using his Metamorphmagus abilities, Naito tweaked his ears just a little so that he could hear what the two were saying.

"You think they're going to have a meeting tonight?"

"I believe so, I'm not really sure. Dumbledore and McGonagall were looking a bit anxious about something and kept sending each other significant looks."

"Should we cancel the DA? I mean, do we get to go to this one now that they made us partial members?"

"I've told you a _million _times, Ron! We are not any type of member—nor will we be until we graduate! We just get to go to some of the meetings that pertain to school matters that _concern us!_ If they have nothing they want us to do or look ar-"

"Or listen."

"_Or listen_ around for, then there is no reason for us to be there. You _know_ that!"

Ron sighed, "I know, I just wish they'd give us a _real_ mission, not all this bloody spying around the school."

"Well, we do usually hear different things than they do around here. They want to be kept aware of it."

"I _know_, 'Mione. Don't nag."

"I don't _nag!_"

"Yes you do; you do it all the time!"

"Do not!"

"I'm not in the mood to play ping pong, Hermione. So what are we doing in DA?"

Hermione glowered at her companion, but growled, "I'm not sure. It's only the second day back, maybe we should just do spell revision. What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me; I just wish I could get my Patronus. I'd be able to do it if Harry was...well, never mind. I'll just keep practicing."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I wish he was still teaching the DA...instead...instead of us."

Ron sighed heavily, saying, "Yeah."

When they both fell into an uncomfortable silence, Naito knew he would not be overhearing anything else useful. Deciding to get into this "DA" somehow, he snapped his books closed and put them all in his backpack before going over to where they were.

"Hey, guys," Naito said conversationally.

Ron sneered and would not look at him, but Hermione responded with a tense politeness.

"Hello, Naito. Did you need help with something? I'm Head Girl now so I'll help you if you get lost or someone is messing with you."

"No, nothing like that, but I appreciate the offer. I was walking down to the Great Hall and saw a sign up for a club called the DA? The poster said that anyone interested in joining should see you. I was wondering if I could join?"

"WHAT!" Ron leapt out of his seat, hands balled into fists, his eyes wild and face flushed with rage.

Naito took a step back as if he was afraid and meekly replied, "I said I want to join the DA."

"B-but...you...you CAN'T!"

"Why?"

"Because...you just CAN'T! There aren't _any _Slytherins in the DA!"

"Well then, maybe it is time there was one don't you think?"

"I'm not letting a bloody You-Know-Who supporter-"

"Are you talking about Voldemort?"

Ron flinched, not saying anything and giving Hermione a chance to put her hand on Ron's arm so that he would calm down. Seeing that Ron was sitting back down, Naito turned to Hermione and crossed his arms in front of his chest, waiting for an answer.

"Just ignore, Ron. I think it would be great if you joined. It would help us and the other students with Inner House Unity."

Naito gave a soft placating smile.

"It's in a few minutes so you can come with us; we'll show you how to get to the room we're using."

At this, Ron scowled darkly at the table, the back of his neck and ears red with anger.

"We just finished the homework we were working on in here, so we're all ready to go. Aren't we, Ron?" Hermione asked in a simpering, sweet tone.

It took a moment, but Ron finally forced out with a grunt, "Yes."

"Good. Follow me, Naito," Hermione ordered before she strolled off down the hall with Naito and Ron trailing after.

When they reached the hallway on the seventh floor, Hermione began to pace until a door appeared. Naito looked at her questioningly so she answered.

"This is the Room of Requirement. You just walk back and forth three times, thinking about what you need and the room provides it for you."

Naito was amazed despite himself and said, "Awesome!" He had finally found a place where he could practice his training in the morning!

"I know," replied Hermione nostalgically with a faint smile.

Walking into the room proved it to be as wondrous as the idea itself seemed.

There was enough open space that a hundred or more students could bring their beds in and sleep on them comfortably, with enough space to get up and walk around the beds. There were bookshelves of any and every kind of book on defense imaginable and there were even rare weapons that dated back to more than one thousand years in the past to the more modern and common weapons that could be found just about anywhere.

It was simply amazing; there was no other word for it. Naito could not ever remember a time when he had been happier except when he had developed his Animagus abilities and discovered it had merged with his Metamorphmagus abilities as well, making him an Animorph.

"So what do you guys usually do when you come here early? Who teaches it anyway?"

"We do; we come here and prepare the room, make sure everything is in order for the others when they arrive," came Hermione's easy reply.

Ron merely scowled, clearly still not liking the idea that a _slimy Slytherin_ had entered his domain.

_No wonder he's in Gryffindor_, Naito thought disdainfully, _just like a male lion—he has to guard his territory_.

"So, what can I do to help," Naito asked in a pacifying manner, trying to play up to Hermione.

"If you could just go over there and drag over those cushions, we'll just lay them out on the floor so that the others can use them when they cast spells on their partners."

"Okay."

Naito set to work on setting out the mats at different intervals all over the floor, which took up the rest of the time until the first members of the DA began arriving.

As soon as they saw him, the glares began flying his way as they whispered behind their hands obviously about him. Naito pretended not to notice the attention they were giving him and stood up against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited patiently for the proceedings to begin with a serene expression on his face.

It did not take long before everyone had arrived and settled themselves around the room and Hermione and Ron took a stand at the front.

"Thank you all for coming and welcome back. I hope you all had a nice break, but now we're going to just jump right into the activities. I thought that since it's the beginning of school and we also have acquired some new members-"

Many people looked over at Naito, some with glares and others (some of the prefects and the Head Boy) with merely a questioning glance before turning back to what Hermione was saying.

"-we would do some revision work. For those of you that know what you're doing, in other words, those that have been here before, go ahead and partner up; I've written the list of spells to go through on the board over there. Everyone else, please come see me and we'll get you situated. Ron would you go with the older members?"

The students separated into two groups—the more advanced students with Ron on the other side of the room, while the beginners or newcomers joined Hermione at the front of the room.

Once they gathered around her, Hermione started to speak.

"Now we don't usually put up a sign, but as it's the beginning of the year and we usually get new people we posted one. What we normally use to contact our members is this."

"That's a Galleon," one of the first years pointed out as Hermione drew out a gold coin from the inside pocket of her robes.

"Yes, but it's a fake Galleon," she told them all primly as she handed everyone a piece of fake wizarding currency, "I made them when I was in my fifth year. You see where the serial number is supposed to be? Instead it shows the date and the time on it. It'll get hot for a moment whenever I set the time on mine."

"A Protean Charm?" Naito asked his tone intrigued.

"Yes."

"And you said you made these in fifth year?"

"Yes."

"Impressive."

"Thank you," Hermione said before describing to them what the DA was for and how it was started in a matter-of-fact tone, but Naito could tell she was pleased with the compliment by the blush that colored her cheeks and the way her eyes glimmered and shone with happiness.

"Now the first thing we need to do is see how many defensive spells you can do right. Now I know the first years haven't really gotten to learn anything yet, so I'll call over someone to help you get started on basic spells. This will be stuff you might not learn in class, but will definitely be helpful. It will also help you learn to focus your magic, which is what you'll be learning all throughout the year. Okay?"

All the short kids nodded their heads nervously; Hermione smiled at them.

"Don't worry, you're new, but you'll get the hang of it. Oi! Parvati! Come here, please!"

Parvati, a seventh year Gryffindor from the looks of her walked over and said, "Yes, Hermione?"

"You told me that you were had practiced all summer didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Could you help the first years learn basic spells? There's a list of them over at the desk if you don't know which ones to do."

"Yeah, sure. Come on, guys. We'll go over here."

After the group walked away, the only new ones left were Naito, a third year Hufflepuff, and two Ravenclaw students.

"Now what we need to do with you guys is figure out what level you're on, as I said before. Tell me what you think your best Defense spell is."

Naito knew that, being trained by Voldemort himself, he could beat any—probably all of them together—person here. So instead of telling Hermione the toughest spell he knew, he looked over at the board where the list of spells was written.

"I know all of those except that I can't conjure a Patronus."

Hermione's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in disbelief.

"You know _all_ of those? And you can actually _do_ them?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes, I _am _a seventh year."

"Yes, but the seventh years last year didn't know half of those spells."

"Hm. Interesting."

"So, how about you show me how good you can do those and I'll let you join the others over there, alright?"

"Sounds good to me. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to teach you a thing or two, hm?"

Hermione just gave him a look that quite plainly told him how likely she thought it would be.

Without giving any sort of indication, Hermione promptly cast a Stunning Spell at Naito for him to block and the impromptu match began.

Most students stopped what they were doing to turn and watch as Naito sidestepped the Stunner and the red beam hit the wall, dispersing. They formed a wide circle around the two, as everyone backed against the walls, turning to watch.

Hermione was smiling even though Naito did not cast a spell; she was probably testing how well his fighting skills were.

_Do well, but don't give yourself away,_ a tiny, mocking voice in the back of his head instructed him intelligently. Naito almost scoffed, _I'm not that dumb,_ he told the voice before dodging and rolling to avoid another curse sent his way in a burst of orange light.

Naito decided to use non harmful spells only and threw a Jelly-Legs Jinx in Hermione's direction.

She easily blocked it with a well-practiced _Protego_ and the match continued.

Naito shot a Disarming Charm at her as she sent a mild variation of the cutting hex in his direction. His quick reflexes from constant matches with his tutors helped him get his shield up in time and Naito looked over at Hermione to see how she fared; he watched her fumble with her wand and just barely get her own shield up in time.

As it was, a portion of the spell slipped past her defenses and hit her in the shoulder, pushing her backwards, but she managed to keep a hold on her wand. Naito sent a grim smirk in her direction, which seemed to make her incensed.

Angrily, she shot three quick _Expelliarmus_ Spells in his direction. His eyes widened in surprise, but he managed to awkwardly dodge the first, block the second, only for the third to hit him squarely in the chest, knocking the wand from his hand and forcing him to fall back into the wall behind him.

Hermione gave him a triumphant smirk as she stalked toward him, his wand lying between them. It was then that Naito noticed the rest of the room was cheering for Hermione.

_I knew there was a reason no other Slytherins came here_, he thought satirically. They all thought he was beaten, done for, helpless and they were mocking him because he was Slytherin...they would all be deeply disappointed though, when he won.

His smirk erased the gloating expression from the Gryffidor's face and he knew what she was thinking. She was wondering what slimy, Slytherin trick he had tucked up his sleeve. She would never think of something as straightforward as him just going for his wand, however.

He knew he could not demonstrate his wandless abilities for them so he was given little choice but to simply grab for it.

One thing his teachers always tried to drill into him was to expect the unexpected; unfortunately, this girl had apparently not been taught that. So when he dove and rolled toward her, she stepped back, thinking he was going to attack her physically and tried to attack him with magic, which he just dodged.

He gave her a broad grin as she looked at him questioningly and he just pulled out his wand and pointed it at her from where he had snatched it off the floor.

Instead of keeping her eyes on her opponent (as Naito had also been taught) she searched the floor where the wand had fallen and seen that the wand was missing.

Naito rolled his eyes and sent a stunner in her direction, which she immediately put up a shield for even though it would have been easier to dodge.

It was then that Naito noticed a pattern in the way she had been dueling. Every time Naito tossed a spell in her direction, she would _always_ put up a shield instead of dodging. She was relying solely on magic to help her and Naito knew how to stop her.

With more force than he had put into any of his other curses, Naito threw another stunner at her. This time when she shouted _Protego_, the spell held for about five seconds before snapping under the pressure and allowing the _Stupefy _through.

Hermione instantly fell to the floor unconscious so that Naito was forced to revive her with an _Ennervate_.

The room was dead silent by this time, everyone stared openly at Hermione who blearily sat up with Ron's help. He was looking at Naito with something akin to hatred in his eyes, but Naito simply gazed back at him indifferently.

In truth, he could have beaten Hermione in less than ten seconds, but it would blow his cover to show any more of his abilities to ones so close to the Order of the Phoenix. He had gone really easy on her, he had not even used a cutting hex, unlike her, and so it was with no little amount of confusion that Naito wondered why everyone in the room looked murderous.

Then it hit him, he was Slytherin. There was no other reason than that...after all, what more did Gryffindorks, as Draco liked to call them, need. As far as they were concerned, the moment that Sorting Hat uttered those first fateful syllables, he was destined to be nothing other than a Death Eater.

_But you are a Death Eater_, the voice in the back of Naito's head whispered.

_Am I?_ answered another, deeper voice from within him. _Do Death Eaters usually go behind their master's back and find ways to rid the world of his presence._

Naito thought not, but before he could contemplate his musings further, Hermione sat up, came to her senses, and said, "Good job. I'd say you're ready to join the advanced group."

She was met only with that annoying silence.

"Well," she started, trying to break through the quiet, "why don't you go over there, find a partner, and start reviewing like everyone else, hm?"

She gave him a false smile, which he did not return before going over to the others to be tested.

Reluctantly, everyone went back to their tasks, but no one came over to partner with Naito and he was left standing alone in the middle of the room.

_Why'd I ever think I could make friends here!_ He thought to himself angrily.

Deciding not to dwell on things he could not control, Naito walked over to the bare wall, cast the Volley Wall Charm and proceeded to go through the list of charms, jinxes, hexes, and shields on the board by himself.

When the meeting was over, no one stopped to talk to Naito, not even Hermione so Naito merely left, heading for the dungeons when he remembered what he had overheard Ron and Hermione discussing in the library.

Instead, Naito changed directions and walked towards the Headmaster's Office, where he suspected the members of the Order to be gathering.

When he got to the stone statue, Naito looked around to see if anyone was in the vicinity before changing into a one of his small Animagus forms—a small, flying, black beetle.

Crawling under the statue proved to be none too difficult for the spy and he easily made his way up to the office without being noticed.

He had been partially right, he noticed when he entered the room. All of the Order members in the teaching staff had congregated in the room, but they all had their cloaks on in preparation to go somewhere else.

Quickly attaching himself to McGonagall's green robes and changing his shell color accordingly, Naito was able to hitch a ride unseen to Headquarters.

When McGonagall had thrown Floo Powder into the fireplace and said, "Number 12 Grimmauld Place," a memory had stirred in the back of Naito's mind, but he was unable to place it.

Shaking his head mentally he got himself back on track. He had been able to understand the words they had said, that meant that they did not even have a _Fidelius Charm_ on the place...how dumb could you _get_?

All of the Order members taking their seats shook him from his reverie and he detached himself from McGonagall's robes for the duration of the meeting.

It would not do to have him make her itch so that she scratched and discovered him there now would it?

Naito tried to make his coloring blend in with the walls as he flew around, trying to find someplace where he could watch and listen unsuspected.

In next to no time he found a place at the top of the cabinet and settled in to listen.

It did not take long for everyone to find their seats and when they did, they were all ready to begin.

Dumbledore started them off by saying, "Welcome, I'm glad that everyone could attend."

"Enough with the pleasantries, Albus," growled a scarred, old man with a wooden leg and a rolling eye. "What's the news from the school? What's going on with that boy you told us about last time?"

The aged Headmaster imperceptibly sighed, saying, "Not much, I'm afraid, my friend. He's been sorted into Slytherin so Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley have not been able to find out much about him, not that Mr. Weasley has been trying very hard."

"You can drop the titles here, Albus," the old man muttered again, "it's not like you're still at school where you have to keep things formal."

The leader of the group nodded to the man and placed his elbows on the table to steeple his fingers in front of him.

"What's Ron been doing now, Albus?" inquired a plump woman that was turning red in the face.

_Must be his mother_, Naito thought idly.

"What he always does. He doesn't like the fact that Mr. Koori has been sorted into Slytherin and so has been trying to start fights and pushing him away. Hermione on the other hand has been doing a very nice job of remaining civil to him despite the fact that Ron is not cooperating with her.

"She actually managed to invite him to that club of theirs—the DA. She tested his magical abilities. She says that he was already able to do all of the spells that their group has been working on. All of them except for the Patronus Charm that is. She contacted me right before we came here."

Naito stored that bit of information away for later...Hermione had some way to speak with the Head of the Order without actually speaking to him physically face to face. _I wonder how..._

"She said that he didn'treally seem all that impressive, I surmise that he's more powerful than that, and is just hiding it, which is perfectly logical."

_Good job, old man._

"From what Severus has already told us, we do know that Voldemort and a select few of his trusted Inner Circle have been training him so it is extremely likely that he knows all of the Unforgivables and other Dark Curses despite the fact that he demonstrated none of these before those in the room even when she had him cornered."

"What do you mean 'cornered,' Albus?"

"She described the duel to me and said he used nothing more lethal than a Stunner even when she used a cutting hex on him. She told me that the only spell to slip through his defenses was a Disarming spell, which sent his wand and him flying.

"He landed against the wall, was surrounded by those from every house who had apparently done nothing to make him feel comfortable with them and yet he used physical instead of magical means of retrieving his wand whenever she came at him."

"So, one thing we do know is that the kid probably has some pretty good reflexes if he was able to pull something like that off."

Dumbledore nodded to a young witch with spiky, blue hair.

"What you mean, is that we have a dangerous spy running around with who knows what kind of power and abilities and we're leaving it up to two school kids to figure out what he knows and what he intends to do. I, for one, say we should just bring out the Veritaserum, slip him some, and _Obliviate_ him when we're done," snarled the rolling-eyed man.

"No, Alastor. Severus thinks he might not be completely loyal to Voldemort. If we could win his trust he would be a helpful ally to our cause."

Naito would have glared if he had been back in his body; he would not be used as a mere _tool_ to do with as they wished for _anyone_. Even if he was gathering information for Voldemort (not that he would be laying out all of his cards at the moment) he would not be used as a puppet on a string.

He might be working for Voldemort for now, but that was only because it was convenient for him at the moment. Once it became apparent who was going to win the war (hopefully he could help take down Voldemort from the inside) then he would show his true colors, become a rogue, and go live somewhere by himself in peace.

"We'll see."

"What has been going on at your end, Severus?"

"I have not learned much more than the last time, but I do know that the Dark Lord is looking for something. I have not, as of yet, been about to determine what it is he is seeking, but he is very set on it.

"As I'm sure you have guessed, he has been gathering more followers to him, I do not know how many, as we have not had a full meeting, but he plans on striking out against the Muggles soon. It will not be long before he fully reveals himself once again and attacks more public wizarding establishments such as Diagon Alley and the like."

"Thank you, Severus."

"Kingsley, Tonks, have you been able to..."

_**(To Be Continued…)**_

**A/N-** Well, that's it. I hope you liked it. I tried to make it interesting, but I don't know how good of a job I've been doing. So I need you to tell me! Please review me w/any comments, questions, or critique you want! I'd love to hear from you.

**Coming Up: **_Naito has to give his first report to one of Voldemort's Death Eaters. How much will he reveal to them about what he knows? What will happen when someone follows him and listens in? Find out in Chapter 7: The Battle of Wills._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Amones of Magic:** Naito/Harry's not really as ignorant as he seems and as for the others. Whatever similarities they notice between Harry and Naito is passed off as wishful thinking on their part. They want him to come back, but they "know" he never will so they think they are only deluding themselves and push it into the back of their minds. Yes, I have thought of Patronuses, which is why _Naito_ will not be able to do one until we come to a specific plot point that I will not reveal at this time. I took what you said about Remus to heart and managed to fit him into one of my chapters that he wouldn't have originally been in. Don't worry, you will be seeing him soon. I'm actually writing chapter 9 so I'm not that far ahead of you guys. No problem! I love it when ppl are curious about my stories. I will not say anything yet about what is going to happen w/Snape, but I will tell you that you'll find out next chapter about some of the things you've been asking.

**Hazel-Beka:** Yeah, I do too. Thanks for correcting me on the words. I'd always wondered what it was they said at that part. I tried putting the words at the bottom of the screen (forgot what you call it...caption something) but it didn't show up so I just tried to figure out what they said for myself. I've already made the corrections for it I think. I went back and corrected that part about Harry/Naito as well. I actually didn't write that part, my beta did, cuz I'm not any good at fight scenes although I did write the one in this chapter...but NEways, she wrote it to give me an idea, but I just copied and pasted it in w/out reading over it and failed to notice the mistakes so...yeah.

**Evaisy: **Thank you! I'm glad you like my story, but no there won't be parseltongue in the next chap. I had not really planned on going into too much detail about classes I just did it for that one b/c it was a transition chapter and I had to explain somethings. I really don't know how to keep Draco in character as we never see him w/out his arrogant attitude that he shows off around Harry. It's kinda hard to make him cooperate when he's w/his friends.

**MagicmanSmokegirl: **Actually, I didn't know that about Voldemort but it makes a lot of sense. I actually do believe he could be able to take over the world if Dumbledore and the Order were to fall. He reminds me of Hitler in a way and he almost managed to control all of Europe before he met his end due to unfortunate circumstances. I actually do believe it's possible.

**Deanna Troy: **Lol! I loved your review...it was quite humorous. I'm really glad that you like my work and think so highly of my writing skills. It always pleases me that others derive pleasure from what I write.

**LadayoftheWood: **You are a dork? I never would have guessed. :P I wonder how we all did in creative writing...hm.

**JCoolio: **(raises one eyebrow) Are you alright? Jin Cheng Units still the same and all that? Thanks for reviewing!

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	7. The Battle of Wills

Title: Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** March 12-19, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Well, here it is everybody! Chapter 7! I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Battle of Wills

* * *

**

_This ain't a song for the broken-hearted  
__No silent prayer for the faith-departed  
__I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd  
__You're gonna hear my vice  
__When I shout it out loud_

_It's my life  
__It's now or never  
__I ain't gonna live forever  
__I just want to live while I'm alive  
__(It's my life)  
__My heart is like an open highway  
__Like Frankie said  
__I did it my way  
__I just wanna live while I'm alive  
__It's my life_

_This is for the ones who stood their ground  
__For Tommy and Gina who never backed down  
__Tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake  
__Luck ain't even lucky  
__Got to make your own breaks_

_It's my life  
__It's now or never  
__I ain't gonna live forever  
__I just want to live while I'm alive  
__(It's my life)  
__My heart is like an open highway  
__Like Frankie said  
__I did it my way  
__I just wanna live while I'm alive  
__It's my life_

_Better stand tall when they're calling you out  
__Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down_

_It's my life  
__It's now or never  
__I ain't gonna live forever  
__I just want to live while I'm alive  
__(It's my life)  
__My heart is like an open highway  
__Like Frankie said  
__I did it my way  
__I just wanna live while I'm alive  
__It's my life_

"_It's My Life" – Bon Jovi

* * *

_

The first Friday of the school year came with much excitement as students rushed out of their last classes of the day to relax on the front lawn by the lake or go exploring with friends.

For Naito, the rest of the week had passed in relative calmness. He had attended another Order meeting the previous day, but had not learned anything of much consequence.

That worried him a bit.

Tonight he would have to give one of Voldemort's Death Eaters his first report from Hogwarts; if he did not give them something substantial, or at least come up with a good excuse as to why he had not, he would be pulled away from the castle as well as the only freedom he had experienced for a year an a half (not to mention the extreme pain he would undergo for disappointing his master).

Needless to say, he was not looking forward to tonight's meeting with whomever his master intended to send to him.

Naito looked out over the lake and up to the mountains. He was glad to just have this time to himself to think. It was amazing to be at Hogwarts; there were so many things going on and interesting things to do. Now that he was here, Naito did not want to ever leave.

Perhaps that was why his master had been reluctant to allow him on this assignment. It was easy to become attached to the place, with its tall torrents, idyllic scenery, and peaceful ambience (compared to the Death Eater training camp he had been staying at) the castle was a homey place to stay.

There was just a familiarity about it, as if he had spent his whole life here and knew all its innermost secrets...

That was another thing Naito had to ponder over...all through the week, he had continued having bizarre flashbacks from what he assumed to be his past life (unless he was a seer and did not know it), but no matter how he looked at things, he could not for the life of him figure out what his past contained.

Hopefully, if he stayed here long enough, all the puzzle pieces might just rearrange themselves before him and he could solve the enigma that had become his world.

_Except that they haven't been happening as frequently recently_, Naito thought to himself morosely.

Naito sighed wistfully, glancing once more at the horizon and the sun as it dipped behind the mountains, giving the surrounding sky a fiery, pink glow before turning to go back inside to the Great Hall for dinner.

Sitting down, not a minute later, Naito was bombarded by Draco's energetic presence.

"Hey, Nate! Guess what my father sent me!"

Naito rolled his eyes. Draco's nickname had stuck with him and no matter what he had said to the contrary, Draco would simply continue using it.

"What did your father send you, Draco?" Naito asked tediously.

Draco took no notice of his companion's lack of enthusiasm and replied, "I got this note from him; go on, have a look."

Draco passed the note over to Naito, who read it silently.

_Draco,_

_Come down to the edge of the Forbidden Forest near the lake after curfew. Bring Naito Koori with you. We all have business to discuss._

_L.M._

"That's fascinating, Draco. What are you so excited about though? You can't be missing your parents already; it's only been the first week of school."

"Didn't you even _read_ it! It _says_ we're going to be doing business. He might even take us to You-Know-Who so we can do something for him!"

Naito inwardly cringed; he did not know anyone that, after having met the Dark Lord, wanted to be in his presence any more than was absolutely necessary—at least no one sane.

Turning to Draco, his voice dripping with disdain, Naito said, "Do you really think serving the Dark Lord is all fun and games, pleasure and power? If you do, then you are even more of a fool than I thought. The Dark Lord might draw you in with his alluring words and assuring tone, but he's as slippery as a snake and doesn't like to share the power he gains. Remember that Draco.

"We must serve him for the moment in order to rid the world of Mudblood filth, but once that is accomplished the Dark Lord will no longer need his 'faithful servants' and will simply dispose of everyone he has no need of. Watch your back, Malfoy. Remember that you are a Slytherin—cunning and sly and always look out for yourself only. You can't trust anyone else."

Draco looked dumbstruck at Naito's profound statement, but when he finally found his voice he asked in a quiet whisper, "Not even you?"

"No, not even me."

"Why not?"

"I don't even trust myself at the moment, Draco, so neither should you," Naito replied before getting up and exiting the Great Hall.

Intending to blow off some steam before he had to meet Lucius (it would not do to blow up at his senior after all), Naito ventured through the hallways of Hogwarts, letting his feet lead him where they wished.

He sighed as his musings turned introspective.

Despite all the work that he had been doing recently for Voldemort, all the training, practicing, learning...despite all that, his life seemed to hold no meaning.

After all, what was he accomplishing?

His survival until the end of the war...

But what good would that do if he was only going to get away, live by himself to die cut off and lonely? What meaning would his life have had?

That was what Naito wanted: to make a difference in the lives of others...it would give him a reason for carrying on. Maybe, if he lived long enough, he could become a professional detective and solve mysteries—help the Aurors and their work.

It was an interesting and refreshing thought...

"Hey, you!" someone shouted at Naito from the top of the steps before him.

His head snapped up, wand appearing in his hand in the blink of an eye on reflex. Plastering a glare on his face, Naito realized just where his wayward footsteps had led him.

Gryffindor Tower.

Now how had he done that? Sometimes his feet seemed to have a mind of their own, leading him to places that seemed familiar, but where he could not have possibly ever been to before.

_You're going mad, my friend_, the unhelpful voice in his head supplied, _you contemplate overthrowing Voldemort, becoming a detective to solve crimes and _help people_ (maybe even Muggles and Mudbloods), and then you can't forget your strange visions...after that, how could you be anything but insane?_

Naito ignored the voice in his head to focus on the external voice coming from the person now right in his face.

"What are you doing up here, snake! Come to spy on us for your _lord_!" came the angry tone of Ron Weasley.

"What I do is none of your business, but no, I was merely wandering the castle, immersing myself in my thoughts."

"Ha! You've got to be kidding me! How stupid do you think I am?"

Naito refused to comment.

"You're probably trying to find some kind of way to sneak some of your Death Eater friends in here."

Naito wryly arched an elegant eyebrow and disdainfully replied, "You know nothing of my motives so I would appreciate it if you did not speak of things you have no knowledge of. After all, it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

"Why you-" Ron sputtered, puffing up like a balloon full of hot air. His face turned red in anger followed by his ears and neck as his fists clenched into tight balls, his teeth clenched together tightly while his breathing became irregular.

Draco's laugh came from behind Naito as the blonde aristocrat strolled down the corridor towards the group.

"That was a good one, Nate. I'll have to remember that for future reference, after all, I've never seen anyone who could antagonize Weasley that easily with so few words."

"What's wrong, Malfoy? Can't make up your own comments, so that you have to use someone else's?" said Ginny Weasley easily as she came up behind Ron along with some of their friends from Gryffindor.

Naito saw Draco flush and inwardly smirked; that boy had a lot to learn before he would be able to make it in the real world, especially if he was that easily flustered.

"Are you looking for a fight, Weaslet?"

"Not unless you're instigating it..." she trailed off, looking to Malfoy with her wand held casually, but ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Draco lunged forward, wand drawn, but Naito held him back, diplomatically stating, "I would prefer that we avoid confrontations, especially around ladies."

"Why's that! Think we can't handle it? Think you're too good to fight against a girl, or is it because you think you might lose!"

"None of those assumptions are correct; it is merely common courtesy not to fight in the presence of a lady—it is not socially proper."

That seemed to deflate Ginny as she took a step back and blinked, lowering her wand, as she had unconsciously raised it in threat.

Deciding to disregard the others for the moment, Naito turned to Draco, face showing open curiosity.

"Why did you come to find me, Draco?"

"It is time for us to go—it's almost curfew, you know."

To the others present it may have seemed as if Draco was simply commenting on the fact that they needed to head back to their common rooms with the approaching curfew.

However, Naito knew the real meaning behind those words: it was time to meet with Draco's father and either explain why he had no information to give or to reveal certain secrets he had gathered from the Order or the DA.

Unfortunately, he had not yet come to the conclusion of that thought process and had not decided what he wanted to do.

Well, there was nothing for it, he would have to go or risk Malfoy becoming angry and punishing him for his tardiness.

Naito gave a sharp nod of his head and proceeded to lead the way onto the grounds.

The Gryffindors, not sure whether to send more jabs at the Slytherins or to just leave before they got in trouble, stood there for a moment, watching Naito and Draco's retreating backs.

After a moment's contemplation, they decided to go back to the common room and forget the incident (momentarily).

Draco could hardly suppress his glee at the thought of a mission. Although he was somewhat subdued after Naito's ultimatum during dinner, it still did not keep him from being excited at the prospect of doing something for the Dark Lord his father had told him so much about. He was nearly skipping as he kept up a steady gait beside Naito.

Naito, on the other hand, was far from excited about the meeting. He knew that no matter what he said, he would receive the Cruciatus Curse tonight simply to serve as a reminder while he was here who he worked for, and who he would continue working for until Voldemort was stopped.

His hands began shaking as the duo neared the Forbidden Forest and he hid them inside the pockets of his robes. He did not want anyone to know that he was scared, after all, only the lack of emotion that he outwardly projected all the time had kept him alive thus far.

"Greetings, Draco. And Naito, it's been a while since we have last seen each other, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, you still remember your lessons in etiquette. Draco always seems to forget what he has been taught whenever he comes here. We almost put him in Durmstrang, but his mother and I decided it was too far away. Nevertheless, we managed to come up with other ways of reminding him his place."

Naito could practically feel Draco flush beside him, but he never once took his eyes from Malfoy's. It was a good thing he mastered Occlumency and Legilimency in the first month, otherwise he might be having problems at the moment.

"Well, sir, I'm glad that you decided to keep Draco here, so far he has been my only companion."

Naito knew he had picked the wrong choice of words when Lucius' eyes narrowed into a glare and he hissed, "What was that you said, boy? I believe it was your duty to worm your way in with those _Gryffindors_ in order to spy on the Headmaster. My master did not allow you to come to this school to go gallivanting around making _friends!_

"This trip is not for your pleasure, boy! You are here for a purpose and that is the _only _reason you are here, do you understand!"

Naito grit his teeth, it was coming, and he knew it.

"Yes sir."

"I don't believe that you do, _Crucio!_"

The spell ripped into him like thousands of heated needles piercing his body, stabbing him over and over. Naito sunk to the ground, his hands balled into fists and mouth clamped shut in order to stem the screams. He did not want to appear weak in front of Draco, but there was nothing for it.

As Lucius Malfoy continued to hold him under, his body was pulled into the throws of convulsions and a scream was torn from him. He continued screaming until Malfoy was satisfied and released him from the curse.

His body still trembled and he had a hard time rolling over and pushing himself up into a standing position once more. His breathing was fast and irregular; Naito chanced a look at Draco to see that his once excited countenance had been replaced by a mask of indifference. He knew how to play the game then.

"I expect better from you, Naito. You don't want me to tell our lord that you've been neglecting your duties; he might just decide to send Ganmou to receive your reports."

Naito held back a flinch.

His caretaker knew _lots_ of obscure spells that could make grown men cry and beg for mercy in a matter of seconds. He would definitely not like it if the Potion's Master was the one he was made to answer to again.

"Of course, sir. I will do better in the future." Naito knew better than to tell Voldemort, or any of his servants, 'I'll try;' it was all or none in this world of hate and torture.

"See that you do."

"Yes sir."

"Now, tell me what you have found out."

Naito took a deep breath, this was it—time to bring out the acting skills...

"I had made friends with the group as asked, and was in the process of gleaning some information from them when one of the Slytherins walked in asking me what I was doing with a group like that. Up until that point the group was speaking with me, although not giving much useful information away."

"Who was this Slytherin that interrupted you?" Malfoy's eyes smoldered behind the gleaming white Death Eater mask and his movements beneath his dark robes were irate and angry.

Draco blanched beside him.

"I don't remember, sir."

"Don't lie to me! _Crucio!_"

Once again, that burning fire raged through his body, boiling his blood. He was not able to hold back a scream as he fell to the ground once more.

After a few seconds, Naito was released and allowed to get up again.

"Why are you defending the-" suddenly he stopped, looked thoughtful for a moment before turning on Draco.

Taking in his pale complexion, Lucius had no trouble figuring out who it was that thwarted Naito.

"It was you, wasn't it, Dragon?" in a chilling, icy voice.

Draco flinched before whispering, "Yes, sir."

"I thought as much, _Crucio!_"

Now it was Draco's turn to writhe and scream on the ground.

The hairs on the back of Naito's neck prickled and he looked around while Malfoy concentrated on his son. Turning his gaze to the distance, Naito saw a shadow move.

His eyes narrowed then widened once he recognized the Head of Slytherin House and resident Potion's Master at Hogwarts hiding in the shadows. Why was he here?

_Hm, he must be here for Dumbledore to see what's going on_, his inner voice supplied.

"What else have you found out, Naito?" inquired Lucius when he was done tormenting his son.

"I have not been able to gather much information from the two as it seems that Dumbledore was informed of our plan and has asked Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley to befriend me as well to get information from me. They are wary of speaking with me of anything remotely close to the Order of the Phoenix and would not even tell me about their summer holidays.

"I have tried sneaking into the Gryffindor common room several times, but the only thing I have learned is that the Order convenes every Tuesday night after curfew. I have not been able to discover the locations of these meetings as of yet, but I am working on it."

"You said Weasley and Granger were told to worm information out of you, have they asked you anything about the Dark Lord yet?"

"Yes, they tried finding out where I'd been during the summer and who I lived with, why I had not been to Hogwarts before this. I gave only vague and banal answers; they will not glean anything from them, sir."

"Good, have you learned anything else about the Order, other than what time it meets? Do you know who all is in it?"

"Well, Dumbledore and McGonagall..."

"Anyone else?"

"I don't know, sir," stated Naito dejectedly.

"That's not good enough, _Crucio!_"

For the third and last time, Naito was thrown to the ground by the force of the spell, only this time, when it ended; he was unable to do more than weakly push himself up into a sitting position.

"You had better come up with something we don't already know next time, or you will find out why the Dark Lord's servants are called _Death Eaters_."

"Yes...sir..." Naito gasped from his position on the ground, but the blond-haired man had already turned and Apparated away.

As soon as his father was gone, Draco rushed over to Naito to help the boy stand. With one arms flung over Draco's shoulders and being able to lean weakly against the other boy, Naito was able to draw up semblance of energy.

"Are you alright, Nate?" Draco asked his voice tinged with worry.

For once, the nickname did not irritate Naito, it seemed more like the personal gesture between two friends that it was supposed to be.

"Yeah, I'll be fine in a moment."

"I daresay you will be once I give you something for that," came Snape's slick, velvety tones from out of the shadows causing Draco to jump and almost drop Naito's almost limp form.

"Come along you two, my office."

"H-how long have you been there, Professor?" sputtered Draco untactful.

Snape turned his deep, onyx eyes on the boy, sizing him up before answering in a silky voice, "The entire time, Mr. Malfoy. Now, will you help me haul Mr. Koori up to the castle or do you want to continue this pointless round of pleasantries?"

"Sorry, Professor," muttered Draco before helping to lead Naito back into the castle.

Snape merely grunted in reply as, he too, walked Naito up the steep slope past the Gamekeeper's Hut.

It took a good few minutes to get up to the doors, but by then, Naito had regained most of the control over his body and was able to help make himself move towards the Potion Master's office.

"Thank you, Professor, Draco," croaked Naito hoarsely when they eased him into a comfy chair.

"You're welcome," Draco said, eyeing him in concern as Snape nodded, striding past them towards his storage cabinets, searching for a bottle of potion.

Taking down a purple, green-swirled potion from the shelf, Snape wordlessly handed it to Naito and a similar one to Draco before sitting down across from them in his straight-backed chair behind the desk.

Throwing his head back to keep from tasting the potion, Naito tossed the concoction down his throat and immediately noticed his limbs stopped shaking and the pain faded away. Looking over at Draco, Naito noticed his miniscule tremors had stopped as well.

"Now, would either of you care to tell me what going on out there tonight?" asked Snape lightly, gazing into their eyes as if he could pull the answers out of their brains by just looking at them.

Naito knew that could very well be what he was trying to do, so checking his Occlumency shield, Naito stared back into his teacher's eyes trying to see if he could read anything from the older man.

"If you do not already know," began Naito, "then why should I bother to tell you? After all, not every Death Eater is to know the Master's every secret, are they?"

It seemed that Snape knew very well how to construct a mental barrier to guard his thoughts because Naito could read nothing when the man replied, "I do know what was going on, Mr. Koori, but I wish to hear your point of view on the events."

_I wonder if Draco knows how to do Occlumency and Legilimency_, thought Naito idly as he pondered if Snape had gleaned the information from his companion's mind.

"Well, if you _do _already know, then why should I tell you anyway?"

Snape growled at this and muttered an annoyed, "Adolescents..."

"Fine, if you want to be difficult, I do not care; do you at least know what you are getting into?"

"What do you mean?" asked Draco, confusion clearly written on his features.

"Do you know what serving the Dark Lord entails?"

Before Draco could answer, Naito cut in, "Are you trying to prevent us from becoming Death Eaters, Professor Snape? Because if you are, one would have to doubt where your loyalties lie."

Naito failed to mention the fact that he was already a Death Eater, even though he remained unmarked from being a Metamorphmagus, as Snape had been to Headquarters and already knew of his "loyalties."

"Not at all, I am merely making sure that you finish what you start; after all, it would not do to find a spy in our midst because you could not handle the pressure."

Naito knew Snape was talking about him being a spy for Voldemort, but he bypassed it with, "It sounds as if you speak from experience, Professor."

Draco had watched the exchange in bemusement at the battle of wills that was in play even if he was not sure what was going on, but now he interjected, saying, "As fun as this is, I do believe you were about to explain, Severus?"

Snape glared at the boy saying, "We are not alone, Draco. It is not appropriate for you to call me that at this time."

"Sorry Professor."

Snape nodded and continued, "When you enter the Dark Lord's service, you will serve him with everything you have. You give him everything you own, even yourself. He does not tolerate failure; if you are not _completely_ _successful_ in everything you do for him, you will be punished severely or you just might not live to fail him again. Do you both understand now why this decision should not be taken lightly?"

"Yes sir," replied Draco, looking thoughtful.

Naito gave the man a pointed look when his sinister, shadowy gaze came to rest on his person.

When the Professor glared back, Naito answered, "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, Draco, tell me about Quidditch? How is the Slytherin team faring?"

The change in topic was abrupt, but both boys took to it quickly, wanting something normal and comforting to talk about to take away the tension.

"Pretty well, sir. With Potter gone, we should be able to win the cup again this year, although the Weaslet won't go down easily, it can be done."

"I see. Are you going to stay Seeker or are you going to switch to Keeper now that the position is available?"

"Hm. I'm not sure. I do want to be Keeper, but I don't know if I trust any of the idiots in Slytherin with the Seeker position."

"Come now, Draco. Surely they are not _all _that bad."

Draco shook his head.

Trying another tactic, Snape asked, "Did you ask Naito if he is any good at flying?"

Draco's eyes widened and he immediately turned to the boy beside him, "Do you?"

"Um...I don't know. I've never flown before."

"Will you try out?"

"Sure."

"Good. I'd really like the Keeper position now that Potter is gone."

Confused, Naito asked, "What does it matter whether 'Potter' is here or not?"

"Are you kidding?" When Draco saw that he was not, he continued, "We were rivals; if he was Seeker then I had to be Seeker too so that I could beat him! I couldn't very well do that if I was a Keeper, now could I? Besides, the spot was already taken."

"Oh. Right."

Draco rolled his eyes at the boy before turning back to his Head of House.

"That was all I wanted to know; you are dismissed, Draco."

The boy blinked, wondering why he was the only one that had to leave, but stood swiftly and exited.

After Draco left, the room was filled with a comfortable silence. The two men sat like that for a while before the Potion Master's voice broke through.

"Hm...you do know that you can get out, don't you?"

Naito snorted in bitter amusement, "You think I have a choice?"

"Everyone has a choice."

"And I suppose you want me to make the same choice you made?"

When Snape only gave him a pointed look, Naito said, "Oh, come on, Professor! We both know that I know you're the Order's spy. There's no need to pretend around me anymore."

"And yet, you did not reveal me to Lucius when you had the chance."

"Yeah, well, there are several things that I know and haven't told him yet. Who says that I'm not just saving things for when I have nothing to report?"

"The fact that you just made that statement and _had nothing to report_ tonight told me all I needed to know. So, why did you fail to give me away when you had the perfect opportunity to do so, and don't bother making excuses. I know you saw me in the forest; Lucius could have easily captured me and brought me before the Dark Lord to be questioned, tortured, and killed while I was there."

"What do you want me to say! You already know that I'm not sure what side to be on. The fact of the matter is I hate the Dark Lord! He may have trained me, but had I not resided with him, I could have had a normal life, not placed under the Cruciatus Curse everyday for no reason whatsoever.

"I know that if I worked for the 'Light' side, as you call it, I would not be cursed for failing, I would not have to worry about my leader killing me just because he doesn't like me, or because he no longer has need of me, or-"

"Calm yourself, Naito."

Indeed Naito found himself standing and pacing around, ranting with no memory of having ever risen from his seat.

"Sorry."

"Apology accepted. Now why did you refrain from selling me out?"

"I guess the simple reason is because I didn't want you to die, especially after being tortured mercilessly."

"Do you agree with the Dark Lord and his views on Muggles?"

"Yes...no...oh, I don't know!"

"That's not the problem, is it?"

"No...It's just...I know what it's like to be tortured and discriminated against and I don't want anyone to have to go through what I have."

"That means you have a choice to make, and you know what that choice is."

Naito frowned at the ground, not looking up at the one man that actually seemed to care what happened to him and feel the same way he did and could understand his position.

"Think about it at least."

The only acknowledgement Snape received was a jerky nod of the head as the boy rose from his seat and let the door slip closed behind him, the snapping sound resounding in the room with finality.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Well, I hope that the few of you that are still reading this enjoyed the chapter. It actually turned out much better than I thought it would...in my opinion anyway.

**Coming Up:**_ The day after his report is every bit as dangerous as Dumbledore invites Naito up to his office to see how he is adjusting, but becomes even more suspicious of Naito due to unforeseen circumstances. The excitement doesn't end there however, because Naito decides to follow Snape and sneak into one of Voldemorts Death Eater meetings, only to be caught by Voldemort's pet snake!_

_**Review Responses:**_

**Audrey: **Yes, Naito's appearance has changed and it was actually revealed in chapter three when he goes to visit Dumbledore about getting into Hogwarts.

**Hazel-Beka:** Actually, those were the first books I ever was interested in reading as a child. When I was younger I HATED to read, but ironically, my mom told me once I got older I would learn to like it. I told her I never would, but she proved me wrong. Yeah, I know Harry's not technically an Animorph in that sense, but I thought it was the best way to describe him...I couldn't really think of anything else! Yeah, I know what you mean about the discrimination...this just goes to show that it really is something that's irrational.

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** Aw! Come on! Why do you think he wouldn't have had a good chance of winning? It certainly seemed like something plausible to me w/the way he was taking over Europe! Don't mind me, but this is one rant I definitely don't mind listening to...for once I'm actually interested in the history department and you know how much I dislike it so...Well, when you only have the Gryffindor's view of things, they would seem a lot better, but once you have a different perspective things are different. What's ethnocentrism? I'm too lazy to look it up.

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	8. Suspicion Sets In

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** March 19-April 9, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Well, here's chapter eight! I know you all have been waiting paitently for this chapter so here it is! Dig in! (Oh, and thank you so very much to everyone that reviewed!)

* * *

**Chapter 8: Suspicion Sets In

* * *

**

_Seems I've left the innocence of Eden long ago  
__Tempted by my heart to go it on my own  
__Beyond the garden  
__Somehow through the desert of my wanders alone  
__You have never let me go_

_I turn from You and still You cover me  
__I fall so far – You find me in the deep  
__Anywhere I am, anywhere I am  
__You sanctuary me_

_I have felt the separation deep within my bones  
__Brought me to my knees crying out for hop  
__Beyond the garden  
__Somehow through my tears You heard the words I  
__Could not speak, You were there to rescue me_

_I turn from You - and still You cover me  
__I fall so far – You find me in the deep  
__I lose my way – You're reaching out to me_

_Everywhere I go  
__Anywhere I am, anywhere I am  
__You sanctuary me_

"_Sanctuary" – Chris Rodriguez

* * *

_

Naito was grateful that it was Saturday the next day. He had, had a hard time waking and found his body to be achy and stiff from last night's _Crucios_. It seemed that the potion Snape had given him had been a pain reliever only as it did not get rid of the aftereffects of the curse.

Suppressing a groan, Naito had gotten out of bed and after wearily getting dressed, hauled himself into the Great Hall for breakfast. He dropped into the seat beside Draco heavily and put his head in his hands, ignoring the odd looks he was receiving from the Gryffindor and Head tables.

"Hey, Nate, how are you feeling," inquired Draco in a hushed whisper.

Naito grimaced and moaned, "Ugh."

Draco winced.

"That good, huh? We can stop by Severus' office after breakfast and get you something, how does that sound?"

"Good enough to get me through breakfast, I guess."

"I suppose that will have to do for now."

"Here, Nate. You need to eat something," Draco said as he loaded Naito's plate full of food.

"Since when do I need a minder?" Naito asked scornfully.

Happy that Naito was returning to his usual self, Draco cheekily replied, "Since you came to Hogwarts!"

Naito's countenance fell even though he knew Draco had been talking about himself, his mind flashed back to the meeting with Malfoy Sr. the night before and then the meeting afterward with Snape. How could he have said all those things that he did to Severus Snape Order member spy extraordinaire? Well, if he ever had a need to go back to Voldemort if this war did not end the way he wanted it to then at least they would never see it coming.

On the other hand, however, if he ever needed some help from the "light" side then he might be able to have Snape help convince them of his loyalty. Naito sighed, it was all just so confusing.

Draco broke into his thoughts, saying, "Hey, Nate? Are you alright? You kind of drifted off for a moment there."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to sort some things out."

"Oh."

A tense, uneasy silence fell between them and lasted until they got up from their seats and headed out of the Great Hall to the office of the Slytherin Head of House.

The walk down to the dungeons did not take as long as usual, as both boys became lost in their thoughts, so in next to no time, they were knocking on the door and asked to come in.

"How may I be of service to you gentlemen?" asked the Potion's Master with a glare that was somewhat less piercing and intense for their benefit.

Before Naito could give a diplomatic answer, Draco blurted out, "Nate's not feeling very well and we were wondering if you could give him something, Professor."

Naito shot Draco a very irritated glare, which Draco responded to by a roll of the eyes.

Snape eyed them warily, "I see. I expect this has to do with what happened last night?"

"Yes, sir," Naito put in before Draco could say anything.

Snape nodded and walked over to his stores, unlocking the cabinet and removing a purple vial from the case. Closing the cabinet and locking it back, Snape handed Naito the potion and said, "Take a sip of this now and save some of it for later if you start feeling bad again."

"I will, sir, and thank you."

Snape said nothing until they were almost out the door.

"Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you Mr. Koori, if you could make your way up to his office, the password is 'Twisty Treats'," the Potion Master said with obvious distaste.

Naito nodded.

It was not but a few minutes later that Naito had reached the Headmaster's office and was knocking on the door, seeking entrance.

"Enter," called a soft voice from inside.

"Hello, Naito," Dumbledore said when Naito had stepped fully into the office, waving a hand to indicate that Naito should sit down.

Naito inclined his head and sat in the proffered seat, but did not say anything.

"I invited you to come and see me today, to ascertain how you are adjusting to your new milieu."

Naito sighed quietly, donning his innocent child persona to appeal to Dumbledore.

"It's ok so far, I guess. I really like being here. It's everything I've dreamed and more..."

"But?"

Naito's gaze traveled down to his shoes as he replied, "But I haven't really been able to make friends. I mean, Draco and I get on alright, but I don't know if I think of him as a friend really. Hermione invited me to that DA club and it was really interesting the two times I've been, but Hermione just seems a bit...distant. She was much friendlier on the train before I was sorted into Slytherin.

"When I came here, I didn't think the different houses would make much of a difference, but, apparently, they do. No one wants to be friends with a Slytherin, but no one in Slytherin is interested in making friends either, only allies or...well, lackeys basically.

"They don't care about the relationship that forms between friends; they just want to be able to get something out of the other person or be controlling."

Naito sighed again more audibly before finally meeting the Headmaster's sapphire orbs, which twinkled with an inner light.

"It's just frustrating sometimes, I guess, but, well...you go with what you've got..."

Naito trailed off, looking entreatingly at the Headmaster while the Professor sat back and steepled his fingers in front of him on the desk as he gazed at Naito as if to figure him out.

Dumbledore appeared to be thinking over what he had said (and more importantly—what he had not). It took a moment before the Headmaster said anything, but Naito waited patiently, not shifting in his seat or looking away as most would under the steely stare of those piercing, ice-blue eyes.

"I'm sorry that you are having such a difficult time making friends, but if you want my advice I would suggest opening up a bit more. They may not be so distant with you if you did not act the same way toward them. It is rather difficult after all to make friends—friends that you can really trust—with someone that keeps so many secrets and does not let their true self be revealed."

_Why that bloody, meddling, old COOT! How dare he! Of course, he knows I'm spying on him, I should have seen this coming,_ Naito silently fumed.

Outwardly, Naito gave a slight nod and a wisp of a smile, saying, "Thank you for your advice, Professor, I'll be sure to think on it. If that is all?"

Naito trailed off on the last sentence; receiving a nod of approval, he rose from his seat and started for the door.

Before he had even taken two steps forward, a blinding pain seared across his forehead, sending him to his knees with its ferocity, as he clapped his hands to his head as if to ease the burning. A groan escaped him before he could check it, but Naito bit his lip to keep from crying out again as the Headmaster rushed over to his student who was obviously in pain.

"Naito? What's wrong, my boy? Are you alright?"

_No, I'm not bloody alright! Would you be alright if it felt like someone had tied a heated piece of metal to _your_ head!_ Naito thought, but did not open his mouth for fear of showing weakness by letting a pitiful whimper get past his defenses.

The burning sensation on his forehead grew sharper in pitch until Naito was afraid he would pass out and somehow he knew that somewhere his master was not very happy with someone and was probably casting the Cruciatus Curse on them.

Using the Occlumency he had learned from Voldemort, Naito managed to push the external influence from his mind.

After a moment or two, the pain receded to a dull throb, leaving a painful headache in its wake. It was then, that Naito became aware of his surroundings and noticed that Dumbledore had been whispering encouraging words in his ear and rubbing his back, and had been for quite some time.

Naito groaned mentally, Voldemort would certainly be displeased with him if he ever found out his protégé had shown weakness such as this in front of anyone, his mortal enemy no less!

When it became apparent to the Headmaster that his student was regaining his senses, Dumbledore asked, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Naito looked up blearily, his eyes clouded and unfocused, but his voice was steady and unwavering in his reply (even if his speech seemed a bit thick), "I'm fine, my head just started hurting is all. 'Think I'll go lay down for a while."

It was as if a candle had been lit inside Dumbledore's mind as he recalled several instances with one young boy that suffered sever headaches.

Dumbledore nodded, pulling the boy's hands away from his head, expecting to see a peculiar shaped scar on his forehead. Naito gazed at the ancient wizard in confusion, wondering what he was doing, but Dumbledore gave nothing away, except the twinkling of his eyes seemed to have dimmed a bit.

Despite the fact that he knew contrary, Albus could not give up the hope that his poor, beaten-down student (or former student) was still alive and well. He was grasping at straws and he knew it, but he could not help but wonder what that little display had been. An ugly suspicion was creeping up on him, one that Albus Dumbledore hoped would be in err.

For if it was true, Harry Potter would have been residing and training with Voldemort for over a year.

Shaking his head and pushing away ridiculous notions Dumbledore helped Naito up and sent him on his way, but he could not help the lingering doubt that nibbled at his subconscious mind.

Naito, on the other hand, was wondering what the brief flash of emotion that appeared on the Headmaster's face had been about. Deciding to worry about it later and figure out what had happened in the office, Naito made his way down the spiral staircase from the Headmaster's office only to run across a man in shabby robes and gray tinged hair. His face was careworn and he seemed to carry himself as if the entire world had fallen out from under him.

A smile lit his face when he saw Naito, although the boy could detect a hint of caution in his stance and reluctance in his expression. This man neither worked at the school, nor came by often. His appearance seemed vaguely familiar and Naito guessed he was a member of the Order though he did not recall seeing him at the last meeting.

Of course, he could have been off on some mission for Dumbledore, but it appeared that his visit was triggered by some important and/or urgent Order business. Naito merely nodded at the man and continued on his way before the man could start talking to him. Hopefully he could double back and transform in enough time to figure out what the man wanted to say to Dumbledore.

The man's nose flared as he walked by and Naito had to wonder at the startled, or more like shocked, expression that crossed his countenance before he visibly shook himself and proceeded up the spiral staircase clearly rattled.

When the man fully disappeared and it seemed that no one else was in sight, Naito transformed into a Billywig, twisting around in the air in a circular motion of flight, Naito zoomed up into the office he had just left so fast that neither occupant noticed his arrival.

Only Dumbledore's phoenix seemed to give any indication that it knew he was there as it stared at him with great intensity as he settled behind some of the odd trinkets Dumbledore kept.

Quickly changing his form to a beetle before the phoenix decided to eat him, Naito crawled into a small space where the crimson phoenix could not get him where he could watch and listen.

"Hello, Remus. How are you?" Dumbledore asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine, Albus. I just came to tell you what I've found out on my trip."

"What is that?"

"Voldemort's growing bolder. He's attacking more fiercely and these attacks aren't as random as he's been previously. He's looking for something, a book, or books, as three out of every four places he attacks have some type of magical library. It's obvious he's after specific information; I just thought I should let you know before I head back to Headquarters to turn in. I'm sorry I could not pinpoint what he's after, but that was all I could uncover."

"That is quite alright, Remus. You found out more than I thought and it was good of you to come to me after just getting back. I hope you rest well, my boy."

The one called Remus nodded and swept out of the room.

Naito was about to follow him until Severus Snape banged through the door, clearly agitated.

"Severus!" the Order of Phoenix leader said with a hint of surprise.

"What is the matter?"

"I've been called. I need to leave, did you talk to Naito?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what, Severus?"

"How did he seem to you? What did he say? I got him to open up quite a bit to me last night as I've already told you."

Naito bristled as he heard that, growing angry at his teacher for betraying him for breaking his confidence. That was until he heard what the Headmaster said next.

"Yes, though you've still yet to tell me what all he said."

"That is not any of your concern at the moment, Albus. You needn't know what was discussed in fidelity, you only need to know of his change in position. I will not break confidences merely to satisfy your curiosity, Albus, just as I trust you to do with me."

"You are right, Severus, but it is hard to trust without proof."

"Yet, you continually ask the Order to trust me on your word only. Am I so untrustworthy myself?"

"Of course not, Severus, but one can never be too cautious now days."

"That is true. Now, you've yet to answer my question."

"Which question is that?"

"How-did-Naito-seem-to-you!" the Potion's Master ground out with gritted teeth, tired of the circular spin the conversation was following.

Dumbledore sighed, "He stayed guarded the whole time and practically begged me to make Hermione and Ron like him. I cannot help but become suspicious when we know Voldemort has ordered him to spy on us and is so obviously trying to do so through them."

"Very well, I will speak some more with him. I must go, Albus."

"Be safe, my boy."

Snape glared at the Headmaster for the last comment before sweeping from the room. This time, Naito followed the man out. Landing on his clothes, Naito hitched a ride to the Death Eater meeting.

A short hike down to the Apparation point passed the school wards and a quick Apparation later, and the two servant spies of the Dark Lord were with their master once again.

Jumping off Snape's shoulder as soon as they arrived, Naito fluttered a ways away and transformed into a black ferret before slinking unseen back to where the last of the Death Eaters were Apparating in.

Voldemort was pacing angrily in front of his servants, his strides swift and sharp, his piercing ruby eyes sweeping over all over those assembled and glaring at a few chosen lackeys that were already shivering in fear.

Once the Dark Lord was sure that he had amassed all of his chosen followers, his rant began.

His high-pitched voice coming out as a hissing whisper of breath that sent chills up the spines of everyone gathered.

"I am disappointed."

With those three simple words, many were cowering in terror, physically keeping themselves from backing away from their Lord.

"I have had you searching for the Orb of Souls for a year now and you have still not discovered its location. I am beginning to see now why it took you all thirteen years to come looking for me."

An imaginary wind swept through the crowd as many shivered and shifted nervously again.

"The truth is you are all incompetents! I send you out to perform simple, menial task and you bumble along like a group of idiots. I ask you to capture Harry Potter, you let him and his band of school children get away when handed to you on a silver platter. I ask you to attack a Muggle town and find a book, you blow up half the library in a zealous attempt to '_please me_' as you put it!"

Voldemort paused momentarily to let the full effect of his words sink in before shouting, "Crabbe, Goyle, Lucius, Bella, and Zibani..."

Voldemort continued calling out names, but Naito did not know who they were; he was happy to note that his minder's name had not been called, nor had Snape. All those that _were_ indicated stepped forward before the Dark Lord and knelt down on the ground at his feet.

Voldemort looked down on them, his expression stern and pitiless, promising pain for failure to comply with their master's wishes in the way that was asked or expected of them.

Knowing what was going to happen, Naito winced inwardly, feeling sorry for them in a way, as he could relate.

"_Crucio_," the word was thrown out in a hissing breath full of malice and hate and Naito knew Voldemort would not let those under it up in just a few seconds. The man, or snake, or monster, whatever Tom Riddle was, was clearly _displeased_ and it showed.

His body language and tone of voice spoke volumes more than his words did, unless you counted the one that had half of his servants on the ground crying out in pain.

It was whole minutes before Voldemort let any of his lackeys crawl shakily to their feet, kiss the hem of his robes, and return to the semicircle around their master as they swayed with the wind.

When Voldemort stopped silently fuming, he called out instructions, "Severus, I want you to check in the restricted section and even the regular section of the library at that _blasted _school for books on ancient artifacts! Whatever you find, I want you to bring directly to me!"

"Ganmou, I want you to speak with the goblins at Gringotts, find any that might help us and ask them if there are any books pertaining to the object I'm looking for!"

"Lucius, get in touch with your allies at the Ministry and see what they can dig up!"

Some others that had not yet been found out as being Death Eaters were given similar instructions, but what interested Naito most was what Voldemort issued after that.

First he called together Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband, Antonin Dolohov, and some other trusted followers that had not already been given assignments. Then he cast a silencing charm around them so that what he had planned would not be overheard.

Luckily, Naito had been hiding in the shadows near where the Dark Lord was standing and was able to hear everything they discussed.

"Dumbledore is planning a trip to Hogsmeade for his students in October before Halloween. That old coot still believes that they are safe as long as they are in 'his' domain, but I want to prove to him there is no such thing as his territory. We are going to attack the students that go on this little exertion and make a mess of the Hogsmeade area to make a point to that Muggle-loving fool that nowhere is safe."

"Bella, I want you to plan the attack, let me know what you come up with. I want those brats Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in my grasp. Capture them and I'll be able to bring Naito back to where he belongs. I don't like the idea of him in Dumbledore's grasp. I want him back here where I can keep an eye on him.

Lucius tells me that the boy had nothing to report when he went to see what Naito had found out. Either the boy is lying or he is not as good of a spy as I had originally thought. Either way, I want to get him back here soon so there is no way of anyone discovering who he really is. If we lose the boy, it could very well spell our downfall."

"I will not fail you, Master," cooed Bellatrix Lestrange, her eyes lighting up with an insane glint.

"Good. See that it is so."

With that, he displaced the Silencing Charm and turned back to face the others.

Unfortunately, Naito did not get to find out what was said as Nagini came up behind him. Naito managed to jump out of the way just in time as Voldemort's pet snake struck.

_Oh no! Oh no! OH NO!_ The voice inside Naito's head cried. _Voldemort's surely going to notice the commotion any minute!_

Twice more, Naito had to avoid Nagini as she lunged at him. Quickly, before anyone could notice what was going on, Naito sprinted out of his hiding spot and launched himself into the hole Nagini had used to enter the throne room of Voldemort's Headquarters, the snake hot on his trail.

His front just barely fit in the hole and he had to use his Metamorphmagus abilities to shrink himself to fit, costing him a precious few seconds and allowing Nagini to catch up to him.

She wrapped her tail around his middle, squeezing the breath out of him so that he let out a squeak of dismay. He thrashed within her grip so that she squeezed harder, suffocating him.

He squeaked some more and began clawing and scratching at her, but nothing he did made her let go of him.

He finally made one last, desperate swipe at her head and managed to claw at her glittering eye. She immediately dropped him and coiled into herself. Wasting no time, Naito squirmed out of the hole and down the hall, never noticing the glittering black eyes of one of the Death Eaters on him.

It was not long until Nagini regained her senses and was enraged enough to follow Naito into the room he had trapped himself in.

Seeing no other way out, Naito changed back into his regular self and began hissing at Nagini in Parseltongue.

"_Nagini! Stop trying to eat me!"_

The snake stopped in surprise as she flicked out her tongue to taste the air around her and find out that it truly was her master's apprentice that stood in front of her.

"_What is it that you are doing here?"_

Thinking up a quick lie, Naito replied, _"I came to see your master! I wanted to talk to him, but I did not wish to do so where all of his followers might hear us!"_

"_Very well, snake-child, I will let him know you wish to speak with him alone, stay here."_

Naito's eyes widened and he hissed a fierce, _"No, Nagini! Wait!"_

But she had already left the room to summon her master.

_Oh man! I am in SO much trouble!_

Hastily Naito tried to think of a good reason why he needed to speak to Voldemort without any of his Death Eaters around. He came up with nothing; Naito wracked his brain, trying to dreg up a plan, but Voldemort came in and he still drew a blank.

_I am in SO MUCH TROUBLE! He was already mad before this! Occlumency shield!_

"Naito, Nagini says you wished to speak with me. Have you discovered what Dumbledore is up to? Have you yet managed to get inside the Order?"

"Um...well, not yet. I just-"

"_Crucio!_"

Naito let out an ear-piercing shriek as the curse struck him and he fell to the floor, convulsing in the throws of the Cruciatus Curse. Thankfully, it lasted only a second and Naito was able to scramble to his feet and reclaim a little of his lost dignity.

"What other reason could you have to come here and risk Dumbledore finding out where you have been?"

"I thought you called me!"

The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What makes you say that?"

Remembering what had happened in Dumbledore's office, Naito said, "I felt something...a sharp pain in my forehead and I could tell that you were angry. I did not know what it was so I thought you might have called me."

"And you could not appear before the other Death Eaters if you thought I had called you why?"

_Occlumency shield!_

"Well, that's not how you usually contact me. I mean, I know you haven't marked me yet, but you usually have some other way of letting me know when you want me. You know, like when you send someone to tell me, but I figured that was how the Dark Mark on your Death Eaters arms worked and guessed that might be your new way of contacting me while I was at Hogwarts. And since you didn't send someone to get me, I figured you probably only wanted to speak to me alone so I told Nagini to get you."

Aware that he was becoming discursive, Naito brought his story to a close.

A tense silence hung between them that was nearly palpable and Naito almost let out a sigh of relief when the Dark Lord spoke again.

"When you had this feeling in your head, Naito, did you see anything?"

"See anything? What do you mean?"

"When you felt pain in your head, did you have any sort of vision with it? Did you see anything?"

"Um...no, I put up and Occlumency shield to block the pain out and it went away."

"Hm...very good. If you feel anything like this again, draw up your Occlumency shield like you did before; it is not my 'new method of calling you' as you put it. Now get back to Hogwarts and do your job or I'll be forced to take drastic measures to make sure you can never go back!"

"Yes, Master," Naito murmured and bent down to kiss the hem of his robes.

Voldemort smirked down at him and ran a hand tenderly through his hair. Naito suppressed a shiver at the touch.

_Get your hands off of me you slimy snake!_

"Now go, my young snake. And make sure those band of phoenix don't eat you up."

_Ugh! Where had he come up with _that

"Yes, Master."

"And be sure to find out what that Muggle-loving fool knows."

"Yes, Master."

With a swish of his robes, Naito Apparated to the room next door and turned back into a Billywig, circumspectly following the Dark Lord back into his throne room and over to where Snape stood where he turned once more into a beetle and settled on the Potion Master's robes.

Voldemort did not keep his Death Eaters much longer after that, and soon, Naito was riding back to Hogwarts on Snape's cloak.

_I think I'm beginning to appreciate just what it is that Snape does. Sheesh, how does he keep this double role thing up? And I'm not even reporting information back to anybody!_

With a jolt, Naito realized Snape had made it to the Headmaster's office and was giving him a detailed report of everything he had witnessed.

"Welcome back, Severus. You are well I trust?" the Headmaster's voice seemed a bit off when he said that, almost as if he were concerned for Snape and trying not to show it.

"Yes, I was not punished, however, there were several that were not lucky enough to escape the Dark Lord's wrath."

_No kidding!_

"What happened, Severus?"

"Apparently, he had some of his Inner Circle Death Eaters attack a Muggle town to find a book only to have them blow up most of the literature in order to terrorize Muggles for sport. Needless to say he was not pleased.

"Some of his best lieutenants were held under the Cruciatus Curse for at least three minutes because of it."

"Whatever it is that he's looking for must be important to him," commented Dumbledore.

"Yes, he let it slip that he is looking for the Orb of Souls. Do you know what it is, Albus?" Severus asked when the ancient wizard gave an audible gasp.

"Indeed I do."

Naito heart sped up; he was finally going to find out what the Orb of Souls was!

"Will you tell me?"

"Alas, I do not believe that would be a wise course of action."

"Why not? You know my Occlumency shield has not yet been penetrated by the Dark Lord."

The fact that Snape sounded a bit hurt at the Professors reluctance of sharing information.

"You are not the problem, Severus."

"Then what is?"

"The very walls have ears, my boy."

"Are you suggesting...?"

"Perhaps. I am quite curious about our new student. I believe he has more to hide than we have at first believed."

Snape stiffened at that and said, "Sir, while we were in the meeting, I noticed the Dark Lord's snake acting oddly."

"Oddly? How so?"

"It was attacking something. I caught a glimpse of it before it ran out the hole Nagini uses to get into the room. It looked like a black ferret. Perhaps Naito is an Animagus?"

"Hm..."

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Maybe. We will have to keep a sharp eye out."

"Actually, I would think it was Draco Malfoy, but from what I've heard, his ferret form was white."

Dumbledore seemed to chuckle at that, but Naito was completely confused; although things became a bit clearer when he seemed to fall back into the past once more.

_Malfoy's face went slightly pink._

"_Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."_

"_Keep your fat mouth shut, then," said a voice that sounded suspiciously like his own._

_BANG!_

_Several people screamed—Naito felt something white-hot graze the side of his face—he plunged his hand into his robes for his wand, but before he'd even touched it, he heard a second loud BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall._

"_OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"_

_Naito spun around. A grizzly haired man with a revolving eyeball was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Malfoy had been standing._

_There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody (Naito finally recognized the retired Auror from the Order) was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at Naito—at least, his normal eye was looking at Naito; the other one was pointing into the back of his head._

"_Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly._

"_No," said Naito, "missed."_

"_LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.._

"_Leave—what?" Naito said, bewildered._

"_Not you—him!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody's rolling eye was magical and could see out of the back of his head._

_Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking toward the dungeons._

"_I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again—it flew ten feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more._

"_I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," growled moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..."_

_The ferret flew through the air, its legs and tail flailing helplessly._

"_Never—do—that—again—" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again._

"_Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice._

_Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books._

"_Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher._

"_What—what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the ferret's progress through the air._

"_Teaching," said Moody._

"_Teach—Moody, _is that a student_?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms._

"_Yep," said Moody._

"_No!" cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet wincing._

Naito shook himself, that vision had been intense. He had recognized more of the people in it and clearly identified one of the familiar, but unknown voices as his own. Man, he hated it when these things just attacked him like that!

"I did not know you had been amused at that display."

Snape snorted lightly, "I just did not like Mad-Eye, or should I say, Barty Crouch, doing what I had felt like doing ever since Draco came to school. Of course, I would have done it differently, but it definitely took Draco down a peg or so."

"Yes, I do believe it did. Now, what else happened at the meeting, Severus?"

"Well, basically, he issued us all orders to search for books containing ancient artifacts. He told me to search through the Hogwarts library, both the regular and restricted sections to see what I could find.

"Lucius is supposed to contact some people at the Ministry and that Japan Potion's Master, Ganmou, is supposed to find some Gringotts goblins that are willing to work for the Dark Lord and figure out what they have."

Dumbledore heaved a heavy sigh and said, "Is that all?"

"Well, I did find it peculiar that after Nagini chased the ferret out, she came back in and told the Dark Lord something that caused him to leave. When he came back he seemed to be mulling over something and was not quite as angry as he had been before. He dismissed us all shortly after that."

"Very well, Severus. Thank you for doing this."

Snape nodded and rose, heading for the door until a weary voice from behind him stopped him.

"Be careful, Severus. It would not do for us to lose you."

"Of course, Headmaster."

And with that, the Potion's Master swept out of the room, leaving a tired old magician to ponder over the troubles of the world.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N-** Whew! That has got to be my longest chapter ever! It basically wrote itself! 15 pages is really good for me! Although about a page of it came from the 4th book itself...but that was still really good for me! I hope you all enjoyed it!

**Coming Up: **_A trip to Hogsmeade is never complete unless there is plenty of action involved, and you can bet our favorite main character will see lots of it in Chapter 9: Fight or Flight_

_**Review Responses:**_

**AshenWolf:** Thank you! I'm so glad you like my story and the way I portray my characters! I do try, but sometimes they get away from me, if you know what I mean. I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!

**tempusfugit3:** Actually, Naito is Harry...if you remember the end of the second chapter, I believe, Harry's given a potion that takes away his memories, making it the perfect opportunity for Voldemort to give him a nudge in a different direction. Yes, I did think the spying on each other was sort of comical in a strangely ironic way. Dumbledore was mostly confused and wondering how Harry could have died if the Prophecy basically said Voldemort was the only one that could kill him. And as you can see, I've made Voldemort out to be not much of a potion brewer and thus hires Potion Master's to work for him instead! I don't hate constructive criticism, I know to use the thing about the comma, it's just that sometimes I get so excited w/what I'm writing that I get in a big hurry and make mistakes that I look over...

**Willow Evenstar: **I love you! Thank you SOOO much for reviewing all of my chapters! You are the most awesomest person ever! Yeah, I know my Draco is a little OOC, but I account it to the fact that we only ever see him from a bad POV. I mean, we don't really know what he's like when he's w/his friends, not withstanding that moment in COS when Harry and Ron pose as Crabbe and Goyle. Naito's been finding out things about his past life in all the flashbacks he's been getting, but he doesn't remember everything until...lessee...chap 16? I wager...I made an outline for this story, but I've decided to change one thing so the chapters might be a little messed up.

**becky: **I'm glad I haven't managed to scare you off! I guess that means I'm doing my job of being entertaining. I hope you'll continue to stick with me as I have no intention of quitting this story.

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** Yay! My friends! (whistles) Wow...I think I already emailed you what I thought about you're rant so I won't bother to repeat it here. (laughs at mental image of Ron becoming bloated)

**Suki Itachi:** Thank you so much! (squeals as well) (glomps)

**LadayoftheWood:** (lol) (shakes head) How is your poetry notebook coming along? Mine's ok, but my pics have been deteriorating cuz I'm getting bored w/drawing all the pics...

**Hazel-Beka:** Trust you two to notice my OOC's...sheesh, can't I slip anything by you! Yeah, as you can tell, that chapter gave me a bit of trouble...the characters just didn't want to behave.

I'd like to thank my beta reader **Jin Cheng** for doing such a good job and helping me write this chapter! You did a great job **Jin Cheng**! I love you, **Jin Cheng**!


	9. Fight or Flight

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** April 10-22, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Well, the chapter you've all been waiting for! The attack on Hogsmeade! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Fight or Flight

* * *

**

_I decide how I live  
__I decide who I love  
__Choice is mine and no one  
__Gets to make my mind up  
__I decide_

_I decide where I go  
__Where I sleep, who I know  
__I'm the one who's running my life  
__I decide_

_I decide how I live  
__I decide who I love  
__Choice is mine and no one  
__Gets to make my mind up  
__I decide_

_Don't think that  
__You can tell me what to think  
__I'm the one who knows  
__What's good for me  
__And I'm stating my independence  
__Gonna take the road I'm gonna take  
__And I'm gonna make my own mistakes  
__It's my life  
__I decide_

_I decide where I go  
__Where I sleep, who I know  
__I'm the one who's running my life  
__I decide_

"_I Decide" –Lindsey Lohan

* * *

_

_Among the many great and ancient objects of our world, there is none more terrible and amazing than the Orb of Souls. Based on the creation of Dementors, this object can steal the soul of anyone with merely a single incantation. It was created by the infamous wizard Ember Oson who is most known for giving life to some of the most feared creatures of all time—Dementors._

_Legend states that the Orb of Souls has the power to trap souls for all of eternity within its depths, but it has yet to be proven as it has never been found. It is said that Oson took the secrets of his creation with him to the grave to keep anyone from using this ancient artifact against him and trapping his soul in eternal torment._

_More information on this object can be found in The Orb of Souls, which is the only other known source that records this mysterious artifact. It describes the relic in detail and supposedly contains the means to operate the Orb of Souls._

Naito closed the copy of _Ancient Artifacts_ and set it to the side, sitting silently at his table in the library and pondering over what he read. That book had stored the only information he could find on the Orb of Souls and the mere three paragraphs it had cited did not provide enough information to tell him all he wanted to know.

It was pretty obvious why Voldemort would want such an object in his power. He would easily be able to overcome any opposition that stood in his way. With only an incantation, he would be able to trap Dumbledore and all of the members of the Order whenever he happened to come across them.

It was imperative now for Naito to find the Orb of Souls before Voldemort did. He knew that if the Dark Lord won the war, there was only one fate for him. He would be joining all of the other trapped souls within that Orb.

There had been two things in the passage that interested him. The first was the statement that Ember Oson had taken the secret of the Orb with him to the grave. Did that mean that wherever Oson was buried, there resided the Orb as well, or was it strictly figurative?

The second thing was the book that was mentioned to be entirely devoted to information on the Orb of Souls and even told how to use it.

So not only would Naito have to keep Voldemort from getting the Orb of Souls itself, he would also have to keep him from the book. There was no way he was going to get his soul sucked out by a crazed snake-maniac that wanted to play "ball."

It had taken Naito a little over a month to come unto the information he now held and the search had become a bit discouraging with the lack of information uncovered. There had not been even a hint of the Orb of Souls in any of the other books Naito had checked out so he had felt no remorse for turning them back in for Snape to give to Voldemort.

This one, however, was a completely different story and Naito had needed to come up with an intricate fabrication for the Potions Master to let him keep the book. In the end Naito had told him he was working on a special project for one of his classes and needed the book for research.

He did not know what Snape had told the Dark Lord about that, but he hoped he had not gotten the man into too much trouble.

That brought to mind something else that would soon be occurring—the attack on Hogsmeade. Naito had not yet told anyone about it and was not sure if he wanted to either. He had thought about not going and just telling Snape so he could inform Dumbledore of the danger, but he was not sure if he wanted to.

There had to be some way he could use the foreknowledge of the attack to his advantage. Draco had been pressuring him into coming with him and he thought he might go and help in the attack a bit, but that did not help him any, except to get into good graces with the Death Eaters.

He just was not sure what he wanted to do, but Naito knew he needed to decide quickly as he was running out of time.

Naito was interrupted from his musings by the sound of voices drifting over to him from the next table. Sitting together, huddled over something, looking nice and comfortable were Ron and Hermione.

They had certainly been a lot nicer to him ever since his talk with the Headmaster, but still did not seem to trust him. Surprisingly, Ron had gone out of his way to be civil to him as well and had even invited him to come to a DA meeting (despite the fact that Naito went to all of them anyway).

Ginny had, true to her promise on the train, never abandoned him and the two of them, sometimes in the company of Luna Lovegood, could often be seen studying together in the library. Usually Naito would quiz her over her assignments as he already knew everything the teachers had been instructing them on thanks to his training with the Death Eaters.

Naito turned back to the conversation taking place only a table away and listened intently to what was being said beside him, hoping to pick up on something that might be considered useful.

"Do you just want to go together or should we invite Ginny?"

"I think we should go with Ginny. I believe Fred and George will be stopping by sometime in the afternoon. It would be nice for all of us to get together and hang out."

"Well, there is that. Sounds good to me."

"First you've got to finish your homework. Students won't be leaving for an hour or so yet, you've got plenty of time to get it done. Besides, it will make the time go by faster."

Ron snorted and mumbled, "Funny, I always thought schoolwork made time go by slower."

"What was that, Ron?"

"Oh, nothing."

Hermione frowned at the red-haired boy but kept her silence and for the next hour she began advising him on how to transfigure a paperclip into a potted plant.

In next to no time the duo had finished what they were working on and were heading for the Entrance Hall to find Ginny and go visit Hogsmeade together.

Naito followed them, making sure to stay a far enough distance away that the group did not notice him. Knowing it would not be a good idea for Draco to follow him and run the risk of jeopardizing what he was doing, Naito was glad that he had not given the boy a definite answer as to whether he would attend the village with him.

Naito did not believe it would go over well if he were seen following this group around with Draco Malfoy. Besides, Naito had figured out how to manipulate the situation to suite him best. It would not due to have Draco start cursing the Gryffindors while Naito attempted to save them, and that was exactly what the young Malfoy heir would do once he found out what the Death Eaters were after.

"So where do you want to go first?" Ron asked the girls whenever they entered the wizarding town.

"Honeyduke's!"

"Bookstore."

Ginny and Hermione answered at the same time, causing Ron to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Well, seeing as you lovely ladies can't decide for yourselves, I'll just have to pick someplace...sooo...the Quidditch supply store it is!"

Both girls groaned, but nevertheless they followed their red-headed friend to the sports store, giggling and whispering to each other the whole way.

Naito watched the group out of the corner of his vision as he followed them, but the majority of his attention was focused elsewhere. He was 'keeping his eyes open' so to speak so that he would be able to act when the time came. After all, constant vigilance was an important aspect of being a good spy, which he was.

That was why, when he felt an icy coldness grip his chest, he immediately knew what it meant. The Death Eaters had sent Dementors as a diversion; the only problem? Naito did not know how to conjure a Patronus.

Fortunately, those around him had sensed what was coming as well and _they_ did know how to protect themselves and others from the soul stealing creatures.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" their voices blended together in Naito's ears as the effects of the Dementors started in on him.

"_No! Shrinket! NO! Leave him alone! He didn't do anything! Don't kill him, punish me instead, PLEASE! IT'S NOT HIS FAULT!"_

"_Indeed you will be punished as well, but because of your stupidity the elf will die and you can remember that it was your fault for becoming so attached to something so beneath you. You will learn respect, whelp, even if I have to get rid of a perfectly good servant to teach it to you._

"_You will respect _me_, your Master, not some filthy little creature that does inane, everyday chores! These little monsters are not worthy of licking the dirt from your boots and you would do well to remember that in the future! Only true wizards and witches are to have your respect. Any unnatural creature such as this and Mudbloods are beneath you and should be treated as such! Avada Kedevra!"_

The memory drifted away as the silvery Patronus's drove the Dementors back in the direction they came from. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sighed in relief, but Naito knew things would not be that simple—the fight was just beginning.

Naito was right, as halfway up the road from where they were standing the Three Broomsticks went up in flames with a loud explosion. People screamed and ran, not knowing what to do in the present situation.

Naito growled, _the idiots!_

Hermione gasped and her eyes widened as she saw what happened before fiercely whispering, "Ron! Ginny! That was the Three Broomsticks! Most of the teachers were in there!"

The two red-heads blanched and their eyes widened.

Naito growled again; shaking his head, Naito bound over to the group and hissed, "It's a distraction."

"Koori! What are you doing here!" Ron exploded, he knew there had been something fishy going on and the sight of that slimy Slytherin proved it to him.

"I'm here to help you. I overheard someone talking; they're planning on kidnapping the three of you. We have to get you out of here."

"Oh, like we're just going to trust YOU! You're probably the one they sent to get us!"

Naito rolled his eyes; they did not have time for this. He could see the Death Eaters approaching out of the corner of his eye.

"Get back," he yelled at the trio as the Death Eaters came into full view.

The others, thankfully, followed his instructions and ducked down out of sight behind the building beside them, hunkering down in the alley.

A jet of red light lanced toward them and Naito pressed them all up against the wall, shielding them with his body. It would be more believable that he was trying to help them if he risked himself. That was how Gryffindors worked after all.

Peeking around the corner, Naito brought his wand to bear on the approaching Death Eaters and shot off a quick barrage of stunning spells that the masked men were forced to shield themselves from.

They responded in turn and Naito put up a strong shielding spell while yelling at the trio behind him to run.

They looked hesitant, but reluctantly left.

Naito and the Death Eaters exchanged spells for a few minutes and Naito managed to knock out a few of them; unfortunately, he was losing ground and was going to have to retreat with the others.

He became even more alarmed as a cloaked figure advanced on him from the other side and ducked when the cloaked man shot off a spell. What surprised him was the fact that the spell seemed to have missed him and hit the group of Death Eaters instead.

Naito looked closer and noted that the cloaked man was Professor Austerus, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a former Ministry employee that was extremely strict and had a no-nonsense attitude.

Naito sighed in relief.

Without glancing back, Naito ran after Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, hoping he would be able to find them and prove his trustworthiness to them.

Hearing shouts coming from the direction he was heading, Naito ran full tilt toward the noise only to be sent careening out into the chaos of another battle.

While Naito had been dealing with the Death Eaters in front of them, some other ones had circled around to trap them, only to run into the trio as they tried to get away. Now the Gryffindors were surrounded by a dozen fully trained and dangerous wizards that would love for nothing more than to torture the children standing in front of them.

Naito almost groaned out loud in his frustration.

Why did the bloody Gryffindors always have to be so reckless!

Deciding to help them before they managed to get themselves killed, Naito jumped into the fray, planting himself right in front of Ron and Ginny, as Hermione had a better arsenal of spells at her disposal.

As soon as he appeared, many of the Death Eaters froze where they were standing.

"What do we do?" one of the trainees asked a tall, feminine figure Naito assumed was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Forget him; he doesn't know what's going on. Knock him out and capture him with the others if you have to. The Master wants those two and nothing is going to stand in the way of that. Besides, if we capture them, there will be no need for him to be here anymore anyway."

_Ha, that's what they think! I won't go down that easily! If this is the only way to get those two to trust me, I'll make sure I do this right!_

Simultaneously, the Death Eaters and Naito began firing spells off at one another. Naito used all of his reflexes and martial arts training to keep out of the way of spells and the Death Eaters relying heavily on shields while Hermione, Ginny, and Ron stood back to back to back, trading curses for shields every few seconds.

It was a good thing that Naito had trained with the best of Voldemort's henchmen, as he knew most of their weaknesses, but on the other hand, they knew most of his.

Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to take it upon herself to distract Naito while the other Death Eaters converged on the duo in the middle of their circle.

_This does not look good,_ Naito thought to himself as more Death Eaters came towards them from down the alley, Professor Austerus lying at the mouth of the alleyway.

_Yeesh! We're in trouble!_ Was Naito's grim thought before he had to focus all of his attention on what he was doing, as several of the new arriving Death Eaters decided to help Bellatrix Lestrange take him down.

Naito stunned a couple of cloaked men that were running toward him before they could prepare to shield themselves, but quickly had to do a back flip out of the way of an oncoming spell as several more took their place.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Ginny had been hit with something and was no longer conscious, her fiery, red hair splayed around her head in a halo from where she lay on the ground. Ron and Hermione were putting up a good fight, but where quickly losing ground.

Naito frowned, he needed to take down his Death Eaters so he could go help them, but for every one he managed to take out, two more took their place. This was getting so frustrating. Deciding to chance a bit of wandless magic while Ron and Hermione were not watching, Naito called up a mist while he sent out a barrage of hexes at his attackers, knocking a few out and making the rest back up.

The misty fog surrounded them all, and most of the spells were being thrown blindly, Naito's included as he tried to back up a bit and get close to the Gryffindor students.

What he had not counted on was Bellatrix grabbing him from behind and spinning him to face her.

"What do you think you are doing, boy! Why are you helping those three when it's obvious we're trying to catch them!" she whispered at him fiercely.

Before he could answer her she shouted, "_Crucio!_"

_Ugh! Not again! Why do they _always_ have to use _that_ one!_ Was the thought that flitted across his mind before everything became a haze of fog like the one around them as waves of agony crashed over him. He writhed on the ground, screaming louder than he had ever screamed before as Bellatrix held him under the curse for a lengthy amount of time.

Unnoticed by either of them, the fog was dissipating and the air was becoming clear again since Naito could not concentrate on his wandless magic. Once the magic fog was completely gone, everyone, Death Eaters and Gryffindors included, turned to watch in morbid curiosity at what was going on.

When Lestrange finally released him, Naito had no energy to even lift his head, let alone the energy to get up and fight again.

Everyone stared as he panted, trying to reclaim his breath, and Bellatrix circled him like a hawk going in for the kill.

Much to the surprise of all, Naito found the strength somewhere in him to pull his shaking limbs into action and push himself up on his arms and bring his glossy, pain-filled, blue orbs to meet those of his tormentor.

"Well, boy. Not quite so eager to jump foolishly into things that don't concern you anymore, now are you?"

Naito glared at the woman in response and managed to get up into a kneeling position.

The insane Azkaban escapee smirked at her victim.

"Don't worry, you'll not be resistant for very long. _Crucio!_"

Before the curse had even left her wand, Naito had rolled out of the way and shakily gotten to his feet, swaying once, but remained standing. He quickly said, "G_lacialis_" and encased her feet in ice so that she could not move.

She shrieked in rage and fired a cutting hex at him that he only avoided because he fell over one of the bodies on the ground. Before she could do anything else, Naito cried, "_Expelliarmus!_" and relieved her of her wand while blowing her off her feet—and out of the ice—and into the wall of the building behind her, soundly causing her to black out.

That was enough of a distraction for Hermione and Ron to grab Ginny and haul her between them back over to the alleyway from where they had come. Naito covered them, leaning against the wall for support and throwing out random curses, hexes, and charms, anything he could use to slow them down as they raced for, what appeared to be, Honeydukes.

_Why are they going that way?_ Naito thought to himself, confused,_ Hogwarts is the other way..._

Then he remembered. In his briefing for this mission, Wormtail had told him about several secret passages, one of them conveniently located in the basement of Honeydukes.

With renewed vigor, Natio began launching hexes in every direction as the Death Eaters converged on them from behind.

They were nearing the door to the sweet shop when one of the Dark Lord's lackeys shot a powerful cutting hex straight at Ron, who was taking on most of Ginny's dead weight.

Both Ron and Hermione saw it coming, but could do nothing to defend themselves with Ginny stuck between them, so Naito did the only thing he could think of.

Like a bloody Gryffindor, he jumped in front of them, taking the brunt of the blow on the right half of his face and torso.

Hermione screamed in fright and Ron gasped as blood splattered everywhere and Naito sunk to the ground, breathing heavily.

"Naito," Ron whispered in awe.

Looking up, the two saw the Death Eaters advancing and did the only thing their Gryffindor nobility would allow them to do. Ron put Ginny down and raced over to Naito, pulling the Slytherin's arm over his shoulders and helping him to stand before gathering Ginny back up and leading all of them into the cellar of Honeydukes and into the trapdoor beneath the store.

Once they were down there, they knew it would not be long before the Death Eaters followed them so Hermione added wards to the entrance to hold them off long enough for them to make it back to school.

Knowing that it would not take long for the boot-licking servants of the Dark Lord to break through those spells, Naito helped by adding some wards of his own taught to him by Lord Voldemort himself.

Bellatrix, Malfoy, and perhaps some other of the Inner Circle would be able to break through them with a bit of effort, but Naito knew that by the time they got them all down, he and the others would already be back in the safety of Hogwarts.

Naito winced as he thought about what he was in for when Voldemort next called him, but pushed it to the back of his mind when his vision started to blur and he began to sag in Ron's arms.

_Need...to...concentrate...Got to...make it...to...hospital,_ Naito struggled to think clearly as his body began to shut down from his accumulated injuries.

Ron began whispering encouragement in his ear as he started to sag to the ground again, "Come on, mate! You can do it! We don't have that much farther to go. We're almost there; you got it!"

Despite knowing that they were nowhere near the Hospital Wing, the words seemed to bolster Naito up enough for him to make it to where they were going. Of course, it was made easier when Snape, who had stayed in the castle during the Hogsmeade visit, found them and levitated Ginny while Ron and Hermione _both_ helped to support Naito.

As soon as she saw them, Madame Pomphrey had a fit; she was so beside herself with worry.

"What happened to you! The others all made it back a half hour ago!" the woman screeched as she bustled about, first checking Ginny over and muttering, "_Ennervate!_" to wake her up before moving on to Naito who was only half conscious by that time.

Ron answered saying, "They were after us; at least, that's what Koori said. A bunch of them had us surrounded and we had to fight them off. Ginny got hit with something, I couldn't tell what-"

"A Stunner," mumbled Madame Promphrey distractedly.

"Yeah, well, then Koori came and helped us fight them, but more started coming after that. It seemed like we were going to lose when this fog drifted in and covered everything. You couldn't see anything. We tried to grab Ginny and get away, but then we heard screaming and the fog faded and we saw one of the Death Eaters torturing Koori.

"He was shrieking and convulsing on the ground, but there was nothing we could do because with the fog gone, the Death Eaters started firing on us again. I didn't really see what happened after that, but somehow we managed to get away and were heading for school, me and Hermione-"

"Hermione and I."

"Whatever! We were dragging Ginny and Koori was behind us, helping us shoot at Death Eaters, but when we were by Honeyduke's someone aimed a Cutting Hex at me and Koori jumped in front of it."

Snape's eyes widened at that statement and they all looked over at the Slytherin.

He was sitting up without aid and the cut along his face and chest had disappeared.

"Here, Mr. Koori. Drink these," Madame Pomphrey stated with her usual assertive nature.

"Yes, ma'am," Naito replied dourly as he upended the goblet she handed him and chugging the contents, pulling a face as he tasted some of it.

"Ugh. I hate Blood Replenisher."

"Well, you're going to like the counter to the effects of the Cruciatus Curse even less," she said primly, handing him a bottle as she clicked her tongue in disapproval at his state of health.

"Was anyone else hurt, Professor? We saw the Three Broomsticks blow up."

"Yes, unfortunately. There were many casualties, but luckily no deaths. Most of them were burns, or injuries from the building collapsing, or spell damage."

Hermione sighed in relief at the answer to her question.

"I believe you should go visit the Headmaster and explain to him what occurred from your point of view."

"What about Koori?"

"He'll be along as soon as he is healthy enough to leave," answered Madame Pomphrey before she shooed the others (Ginny included) out the door.

Naito groaned aloud at her pronouncement.

"I'm never going to get out of here!" he complained with fervor to his Head of House.

Looking up at the man, Naito could almost swear he saw a ghost of a smile creep onto the man's face, but it was gone as soon as it came so Naito was not sure he did not just imagine it.

"Please show a miniscule amount of decorum while you are in the presence of others, Mr. Koori," stated Snape.

Immediately, the youthful seeming child that had been sitting in front of them transformed into the icy, cold exterior that the young spy projected around other people.

"Now, Madame, I must insist that Mr. Koori come with me up to the Headmaster's office to explain some of the extenuating circumstances that have occurred today."

"Yes, well, I'm sorry to say, Professor Snape, that I cannot on good conscious let that boy leave until he is healthy enough to do so. After having the Cruciatus Curse put on him for who-knows-how-long, I will not allow him to leave until he is good and ready."

Snape smirked at her, "Very well. Naito, are you 'good and ready' to leave?"

Naito smirked as well and replied in a completely innocent tone of voice, "Of course, Professor."

Madame Pomphrey glared at them.

"No. You will not be taking this boy from the Hospital Wing at this time. If the Headmaster has need of asking him questions then Albus can come down here himself and do it. This boy needs rest and he _will_ get it!"

"Now, Poppy, I do believe we have had this exact same conversation before on multiple instances. Once he is in the Headmaster's office, he will be sitting down, _resting_, and after that he will go to his dormitory where he will go to sleep and _rest _some more. As I have so often told you on previous occasions, it is oft easier to _rest_ in your own bed. Do you not agree?"

"Fine! But I don't want to hear anymore about it if he has a relapse! You can just take care of him yourself, Professor Snape!"

Snape smirked again as the woman leveled her ire at him, but ignored her beyond that by helping steady Naito as he got out of bed and waiting as the boy put back on his bloody and torn shirt and robes.

Together they walked up to the Headmaster's office and ascended into the barmy, old cooger's domain.

Hermione and Ron were just leaving as they entered and each shot Naito a worried glance as they passed by him.

Naito smiled back reassuringly, hoping they did not believe it to be as false as it actually was. The only thing he cared about now was how he could extract more information from them now that he had their trust and what he would say to Voldemort the next time he was called, which he assumed would be soon.

When he looked back at Dumbledore, he noticed the man's twinkling blue eyes directed at him in a fixated stare as he took in the soiled clothes and tousled appearance from the fight.

His eyes seemed to be boring into Naito's and the boy was once again reminded of the man's Legilimency skills. Giving his mental shields a check, Naito sat down in the offered seat and gazed back into the piercing sapphire orbs serenely.

"Hello, again, Naito," Dumbledore said quietly with a hint of, was that pride in his voice?

"Hello, Professor," Naito shifted uneasily in his seat; he did not like that penetrating blue stare directed at him. It was as if the older wizard knew everything about him, all his deepest and darkest secrets, the things he hid away from everyone—all his insecurities and fears. He must have that look perfected down to a science to get his more troublesome students to behave.

"I have already heard the accounts of Ron and Hermione and have deduced what happened."

"Then what did you need me to see you for, Professor?" Naito asked respectfully, if a bit haughtily.

"I was just curious as to why you jumped in front of Ron like that?" the old man inquired happily.

Naito's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion; what was going on with the Headmaster? Why was he acting as if he were a little kid that was taken into a candy store and offered to have whatever he wanted? The village next to the school had just been attacked, what was he so happy about?

"Because the Death Eaters would have taken him and Hermione, and probably Ginny too, if I hadn't. If I didn't jump in front of him they wouldn't have been able to get away. Besides, he was holding Ginny; he couldn't go anywhere so I had to do something."

Naito shrugged, but at his answer, Dumbledore's eyes lit up even more than before, which Naito had not even thought possible. He was beginning to get the impression that Dumbledore thought he had acted out of nobility to aid others..._Gryffindor nobility._

He scowled and said, "Don't go reading too much into this, Professor. I'm a Slytherin, which means I have my own agenda."

Why did he just say that? What was wrong with him?

Dumbledore just chuckled, his eyes twinkling merrily.

Naito was starting to get annoyed with the eye-twinkling and scowled again.

"My dear boy, if you had really intended to harm them, then you would have done so. You've had ample opportunity to betray me and several others, yet you have not."

He paused for a moment, just staring at Naito with joy. When he finally spoke again, he surprised Naito by saying, "You amaze me. You knew that attack would happen at Hogsmeade, and while you did not inform any of the staff of it you still went and protected Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Why is that?"

Naito's eyes widened and he started to protest his foreknowledge of such an attack.

Dumbledore held up a wizened, wrinkled hand and said, "Do not even try to deny it. How else would you have known what the Death Eaters were after and told not only those three, but myself as well if you had no idea that was going to happen."

"So," Naito glared at the man, his voice dropping dangerously low, "you think you have me all figured out do you? Think you have me picked apart and can lead me around in circles with your little games? Well, guess what! I'm not who you think I am and never will be! WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!"

Naito bellowed, rising to his feet angrily as Dumbledore started laughing at him.

"Nothing, my boy. You just remind me very strongly of someone I used to know and love very dearly."

Naito's anger turned to confusion once more as he tried to piece together the puzzle of the man before him.

_Hm...So I remind him of someone he used to know? Is it because I act like this person or was it something I said? Or both? Maybe if I can get him to tell me then I can do some research. Perhaps before I lost my memory, I really was someone he used to know. Why else would I be having these flashbacks of Hogwarts and all these other people? Maybe..._

"Who?"

Dumbledore managed to stop laughing and asked, "What?"

"Who is it that I remind you of?"

Dumbledore knew by the intense expression on his face that he was serious about this and said quietly, "It does not matter. He is dead."

Naito frowned. If this person died, then why was the old man laughing?

"What is so funny about him dying?"

"Nothing."

Naito nearly screamed in frustration, could he not just get ONE straight answer from this man without the loop-the-loop confusion conversation beforehand!

"So WHY were you laughing!"

"Because once again I have had to remind myself that he really is gone and he is never coming back; if I did not laugh I would break down from the agony of it all."

Naito stepped back and blinked; he had not expected to receive such a candid answer from the wizened wizard. The man sounded desperate, defeated, as if he had nothing left except for the war. And maybe he did not...maybe that really was all that was holding him together and as soon as it ended, he _would_ give up.

Naito felt his heart clench painfully as emotions he had not felt in a long time came to the surface...Shrinket's screams and pleads raged in his mind as he saw once again as she was tortured to death. That was what this poor, worn-out, old man was feeling—cursed...cursed with life that had a touch of death.

Forcing the feeling down, Naito struggled to regain control of his emotions; he was _in the presence of the_ _enemy_ after all. But despite all that, Naito could not help but feel sorry for the man and all he must have lost—_I can sympathize; I know exactly how you are feeling._

Hiding his emotions under a stoic mask, Naito gazed dispassionately at the Headmaster and said in slow, measured tones, "Life goes on, Professor. The end of the world is not here yet, so make the most of what you do have. Don't give up while there is still something to fight for, not when there is still something you can do to help."

With that, Naito walked stiffly out of the office and down the stairs, never noticing the way Dumbledore stared after him in awe.

What he did notice, was Ron and Hermione waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

He nodded as he approached them, intending to walk past them and collapse on his bed for a few hours after all the excitement.

Instead, the two of them came up to him and said, "Hey, Naito. Hermione and I decided to call the DA together today to practice because of the attack. We were wondering if you wanted to go; Ginny's already gone ahead to get everything ready and everyone will probably be there waiting on _all_ of us to be there."

Naito noticed the way Ron stressed the word "all" and wondered what was going on with everyone. First the Headmaster now Ron and Hermione, but, Naito guessed, you could not save someone's life and not end up as friends.

Naito wondered at that statement for a moment as it seemed to call to mind something about these two standing in front of him and some incident with a troll...

Oh well, Naito shoved the thought away as he nodded once again at the two of them, amazed at the fact that he had actually gotten them to trust him because of what had happened.

The astonishment was not able to cover the fear he felt at what he knew was in store for him for undermining an attack that had been underway for a month. He could already tell it would _not_ be pretty.

Thoughts of what was in store for him danced in his head even as he walked with Ron and Hermione to the DA, even as most of the others in the group finally accepted him with a cheer, even as they dueled pseudo battles against each other he could not stop thinking about how much trouble he was going to be in with Voldemort once he was finally called.

One thing was for certain...he did not want to go back, but knew he would because it could mean the difference between life and death...and who won the war.

Although he did not know if he would reveal himself to the light or not, he finally knew which side he was fighting on and would do everything within his power to see that it won.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **I had to change several things in this chapter when I wrote it, but I think I'm satisfied with the results so far. How about you?

**Coming Up: **_Naito has to pay for going against the Death Eaters; does Voldemort finally find out about Naito's wavering loyalty or will he be able to save his reputation as Voldemort's faithful spy? Find out next in Chapter 10: Halloween._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Willow Evenstar:** If you liked that chapter, I expect you liked this one as well, but I prefer not to make assumptions and to give my reviewers a chance to tell me how they like it for themselves! Thank you so much for your comments and reviewing! That's what keeps this story alive!

**Hazel-Beka:** Yeah, I have been trying to keep the chapters longer than usual lately! I know how most ppl like to read longer chaps better than shorter ones! No, he used his Metamorphmagus ability to change his appearance including his scar and somehow now thinks that the appearance he now has is his real 'self.' Actually I think he was furious that it happened in public, but the ferret incident itself? I think that would amuse even Snape! That's the logic I'm using to explain myself...I mean, we never see how he really treats the students in his own class except during Potion's class so I just drew conclusions from that. Talking about characters not working with you! Sheesh, I just wrote chap 11 and it's a doosy! I had it planned out, but what I originally planned completely disappeared! That chapter wrote itself!

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** In today's session of "How to Cook up Trouble" we will learn how to make Ron become bloated...first, you will need one Ron Weasley, make sure he has a ginger top! We wouldn't want anything not tempermental! Second, you will need one enraged teenager named Harry Potter, one aggravating Aunt Marge, mix them all together and BOOM! Or Walla! You have an instant bloated Ron! No I don't think someone can become accustomed to the pain of the Cruciatus Curse, of course, not everyone shares my opinion...As for the OOS, you found out a little in this chap!

**bluefire-elemental:** Actually, I did have something about the Patronus in my notes, but I don't know how I would fit it in...of course, something could always find its way into future chapters that I haven't written yet so...who knows?

**LadayoftheWood:** How's summer vacation going for you? I've got my license to drive by myself now and my parents gave me my mom's car to have. I'm still looking for a job, but well, that's it for me! Yeah, I noticed about the songs...oh well, I guess we'll just have to suffer our weirdness alone then...

**logi: **Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you like it and hope you will continue to like/read/review it!

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	10. Halloween

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** April 22, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** The much awaited chapter 10, when Naito has to answer to Voldemort for what he did in Hogsmeade...I hope you enjoy...Hazel, this is the one w/the torture scene I was telling you about.

* * *

**Chapter 10: Halloween

* * *

**

Tension filled the air so much that it was almost palpable. Students huddled in groups, conversing in hushed tones at what was about to take place.

For them, it was one of the most terrifying experiences they would ever have to face.

Asking the girl or guy they liked out to the Halloween ball that had been announced about a week prior.

After the attack on Hogsmeade, it had been relayed to the students that they would no longer be able to go to the all-wizarding town near the school. To placate all the angry upperclassmen, Dumbledore had decided to host a Halloween ball to make up for the loss, as well as several other exciting activities at different times around the calendar.

Naito merely rolled his eyes at everyone's behavior and continued walking down the hall. Ever since he had saved Ron, Naito had been distant and antisocial with everyone except the Gryffindor Trio and Draco. He knew when he defied the Death Eaters that he would have to be punished for his insubordinate actions.

Unfortunately, that time had come for him to pay for it.

That Halloween, the same night as the party, was a Friday—the day Naito had to report to one of his Death Eater "superiors."

While everyone else would be having fun, enjoying childhood, Naito would be tortured and once again made aware of where he stood in the Dark Lord's army.

Naito sighed, why could he not just be normal like everyone else? Had he been such a terrible person before he lost his memory that he was destined to suffer in his new life?

"Oh, excuse me!" some third year Hufflepuff said as she bumped into him, racing down the corridor with her friends.

Natio nodded at the girl and continued on, hoping to find something he could use to distract himself from the fear that was rising up within him.

He finally found his distraction in the form of his Head of House. Professor Snape swept through the corridor, his black robe billowing out behind him. Naito smirked at the sight, struggling to hold back a laugh as everyone in the hallway quickly made themselves scarce at the sight of those daunting robes.

Maybe Naito should charm his robes to act like that too just to scare everyone off when he wanted to be alone. He certainly could do an accurate imitation of the Potion's Master. Naito decided against it on account of how he wanted everyone to trust him, not cower in fear every time he walked by.

"Mr. Koori!" Snape snapped, "You will accompany me to my office immediately!"

"Yes, Professor," Naito sneered, the smirk never leaving his face.

Snape's eyes narrowed at him in a fierce glare, but Naito ignored him, looking serenely down the hall, his slow gait belying his eagerness for a talk with his teacher.

After his talk with Dumbledore, Naito had gone to Snape, telling him about what he had done and the mixed feelings he had of the situation. Being the only other person (that Naito knew of) to make the decision to turn against the Dark Lord, Naito felt secure in his confidence of the Potion's Master.

For the moment, he appeared to not be taking sides on the matter and was just letting him make the decision for himself instead of trying to influence him one way or the other.

After he had overheard the conversation between Snape and Dumbledore about him, he knew not to doubt Snape's discretion to the Headmaster on the matter.

While he did not spill all of his deepest, darkest secrets with the man, Naito did explain certain trying situations to him and had come to respect the advice he was given.

Naito was broken out of his musings by the slamming of a door, from what sounded like anger but was really just a cover, by the object of his thoughts.

Snape cast strong silencing charms and wards around his room, probably to make sure no one was able to disturb them as Naito already knew that Snape's door was automatically warded whenever the door was closed, and sat down in the chair behind his desk.

"Are you ready for the evening's activities?" the Professor asked and Naito knew he was not talking about the Halloween ball.

Naito put up his best "game face" but knew that the professional Legilimens would see through it even without a reading. Snape was a spy and would automatically note the slight shaking of his arms, the stiffness in his shoulders, and the clenched jaw muscles.

"There is going to be a meeting tonight," the spy informed him. "I have been instructed to bring you with me to the meeting and you will be dealt with there."

Naito winced and tried to cover it with a jerk of his head.

"Great," Naito muttered under his breath, "nothing like an audience to perform for."

"You will be expected to submit to Legilimency. Will you be able to sustain your barriers?"

"Hopefully," was Naito's quiet reply, "He usually is able to tell if I'm trying to trick him by placing a shield inside a shield."

Snape nodded and stood up, coming around his desk to face Naito. Gesturing for Naito to get up, the Professor took out his wand. Warily, the Slytherin boy and brought out his to bear as well.

The Professor shook his head and Naito reluctantly put his away. He did not like to make it easier for people to attack him more than necessary. Not having his wand in hand when someone else's was clearly directed at him unnerved him greatly, although he did not let it outwardly show.

"What are you doing, Professor?"

"I'm going to teach you how to hide your second shield so that it will not be detected when the Dark Lord probes your mind."

"How?"

"You will see."

The Potion's Master gave a flourish of his wand to announce his intentions and muttered, "_Legilimens!_"

At first Naito fought hard against the intrusion into his mind, but then he felt a gentle nudging against his barriers, not a barraging attack, but more like a soft caress, seeking entrance, offering a calm reassurance.

Hesitantly, Naito punctured a small hole in the shield, allowing only a little of the soothing presence into his mind, but steadily widening the hole so that the whole being was allowed in.

_No peeking,_ he requested and he felt the foreign presence give its acquiescence.

While the form looked around at Naito's inner workings, it did not pry into his memories and personal space. Instead, it seemed to be inspecting the strength of the wards erected around Naito's mind, every once in a while pushing against the shields and gauging its reactions.

_Your barriers are well constructed,_ the form said, _but they lack the subtlety needed to keep from being noticed._

Naito sent a feeling of confusion to the being and it continued to explain.

_While you may have the strength needed to fight against an attack, you do not have your shields shielded. Do you understand?_

_As the Dark Lord's spy, you are expected to be completely open and honest with him. He will want you to allow your memories to be freely accessible to him, not blocked off to where he cannot tell if you are telling him the truth or not._

_While you need to be able to keep him out of your thoughts, it is also important to keep him from noticing that you are keeping him out of your thoughts. At the moment, you have made it no secret that you are holding up a shield._

_What you want is to maintain that shield without him knowing that you are doing it, disguise the fact that you even have the shield up to begin with. To do that you need to shield your shield._

All of a sudden it clicked in Naito's mind what the Professor was saying, but how did one shield a mental shield?

_How do I do that, Professor?_

_By hiding it behind whatever mental image you choose. But remember, the form you decide on must be subtle, something that would not be easily noticed._

It took a moment of thinking, but Naito finally conjured up some fog in front of his second shield.

_Good, now you want to put enough memories, sometimes _false_ memories in front of that image to throw off suspicion. Now whenever you open up your first shield, your second one will be hidden behind those memories and the fog will keep it from being detected._

_So the memories are more like a diversion than anything else?_ Naito thought curiously.

_Yes, just something to divert suspicion. Do you wish for me to test it from the outside now to be sure you are ready?_

_Yes please._

With that, Naito let Snape back through his barriers and out into his own body (not that he had ever left it).

When they were both ready, Snape again cast Legilimens and this time he nodded his head in approval when he was finished.

"That is good, you would not know that you were still shielding even if you knew where or what to look for. I do believe you are ready to face the Dark Lord."

Both of them glanced at the clock on the mantle across the room in the Potion Master's office and noticed the late hour.

"We had best leave the castle before it is encased by total chaos, the like of which Albus insists upon."

"Better the chaos within the castle than that without," Naito said, sounding strangely philosophical.

Naito's Professor gave him a searching look before stating, "That was exactly how Albus put it."

Naito's eyes widened in surprise and he turned to look at the man behind him.

Snape merely ignored him and continued past Naito to the door, sweeping it open and gesturing for Naito to precede him outside.

Together they walked up from the dungeons and out the great double doors onto the lawn.

They walked swiftly side-by-side down the grassy slope in an amenable silence.

As they passed the Whomping Willow, Naito noticed how its dark branches swayed eerily from side to side as if irritated by something. The sight seemed to trigger a memory in Naito's mind that gave way to another one of his visions.

_They were shrouded in darkness, creeping through a tunnel. Several of the figures in front of him were familiar looking—Ron, Hermione, Remus Lupin from the Order...and Severus Snape who was being levitated by a man that he could only see the back of. The man had long, black hair; his robes were torn and soiled and hung loosely around the man's thin frame._

_They were edging awkwardly along the tunnel in a single file, a ginger colored cat in the lead. The man in front of him, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them, kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. He had the impression that the man was making no effort to prevent this._

_Suddenly, the man turned around, looking right at him. His face was pale and gaunt; he had the look of someone that had been locked up as a prisoner for a long time—the sunken cheeks, dead eyes, and sullen look on his face giving clues to the man's past._

_His face seemed to stir up something within Naito's mind and tickle at the back of his conscious. The feeling became stronger the longer he looked at this man; soon it was no longer a tickle, but a barraging, enraged awareness that had come alive and was struggling to break out of its cage._

_As quickly as the feeling came, it was suppressed by a forceful presence at the back of his mind. Naito paid it no heed as the vision continued..._

"_You know what this means?" the hoarse, scratchy voice of the stranger asked. "Turning Pettigrew in?"_

"_You're free," Naito heard himself say._

"_Yes...," said the man. "But I'm also—I don't know if anyone ever told you—I'm your—"_

The vision blurred and warped, attempting to linger and reveal more of his past. Naito could feel the vision literally fighting against something in the back of his consciousness, but could do nothing to keep the vision from slipping away and fading to blackness.

Naito blinked rapidly.

His vision had been trying to tell him something that time, he had felt something that time that he had not felt any of the other times and knew that if whatever had been fighting it off had not persisted he would have regained his memories...he just knew it!

Naito forcefully shook himself as Snape hissed in pain through tightly clenched teeth and grasp his left arm firmly. Trying not to show any emotion, Naito turned frigid aquamarine eyes on his Professor and raised a questioning eyebrow.

Snape nodded to him and they hurried toward the Apparation point, swiftly disappearing from Hogwarts grounds and reappearing in a large, stonewalled chamber with a familiar sinister throne amongst several black cloaked, white masked Death Eaters.

They all hurriedly assembled themselves before their lord, one coming up after the other to kiss the hem of his robes, murmuring a respectful, "Master" and returning to their place.

The last of these was Naito.

As he tried to return to his proper place, the Dark Lord laid an ice-cold hand on his shoulder, preventing him from rising to his feet.

"Naito, my young knight, are you my faithful servant?" Voldemort asked, his hissing voice dangerously low.

Naito suppressed a shudder, that low voice of his was even more frightening than a screaming dark lord; it promised intense pain and torture in his near future.

"Yes, my Lord. Always. You know I serve-"

Naito was cut off as Voldemort continued, "Then why did you resist my Death Eaters in the attack at Hogsmeade? Even if you were unaware that an attack would take place, you should have heeded my faithful servants' wishes and helped them..._not our enemy!_"

_Uh oh. I don't know how I'm going to get myself out of this one. He said 'should have heeded my _faithful_ servants' that means he thinks I'm not loyal! I've got to think of something good if I want to survive the night._

Somewhere, he knew Severus Snape was watching him intently. This was not only a test of his loyalty to Voldemort, this was also a test to see how good of a spy he was by the older man. If he failed this, there would be no one to help him. Snape would want him to be able to take care of himself, and indeed he would. He could not lose it all now when he had finally uncovered information on the Orb of Souls.

Forcefully collecting himself, Naito, inwardly wincing, said, "I thought I was."

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room digested this. Naito was sure that, like him, everyone else in the room was waiting on baited breath for the Dark Lord's reaction.

They did not wait long...

That dangerous voice of Voldemort's went even lower... "What! Explain yourself!"

"Yes, Master. You told me before I even left for Hogwarts that it was my duty to gain the respect of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and find out any and all information I could. Despite all of my attempts they have resisted and kept themselves distant from me.

"Suddenly, after a month of not hearing anything from you and without any forewarning, there is an attack at Hogsmeade and I understood. Since I had been unable to gain their trust and comply with your wishes, you had sent Death Eaters to attack the town and go after the two Weasleys and Granger to give me the perfect opportunity to prove to them that I was on their side.

"I took the opportunity you had so graciously provided and protected them from your servants and now I have gained the trust of the Gryffindors at long last. If I had only been made aware of the attack beforehand and known the true intentions of my Master, I would not have made such a grievous error."

Naito waited for Voldemort's reply, his head bowed and his form the absolute picture of submission.

When Naito thought he could not wait any longer, Voldemort removed his hand from Naito's shoulder and used his finger to lift up Naito's chin so that ice blue eyes met and held the blazing red of his master's.

Naito knew Voldemort was searching his mind and felt as he encountered his first mental barrier.

"Lower your Occlumency shield, Night."

Naito knew it was not a request, but a command.

Using the Occlumency techniques Snape had taught him before they left, Naito hid his second shield behind a wall of fog and put up false memories of the attack and other inconsequential instances as a distraction.

Lowering his first shield, Naito allowed Voldemort to search his "memories" of the incident and finally pull back, finally satisfied with Naito's loyalties.

"Even if you thought you were abiding by my wishes, you were not and managed to ruin an operation that has been planned for months. You have failed me again and I will not tolerate such failures from you.

"I trained you myself to find out information about certain parties and you have yet to succeed after a month. Now that you have the assurance of the Gryffindor's trust in you, you _will_ gather information for me and if you cannot get them to talk to you, I want you to find _creative ways_ of discovering what I want. Do you understand?"

Naito and all of the Death Eaters could hear the underlying threat "or else" echoing in that sentence and Naito knew that Voldemort had been referring to his unique Animagus ability when he said "creative ways." If Naito did not start passing on information to Voldemort's Death Eaters at his weekly meetings, Naito knew he would be taken out of Hogwarts and brought back to the Dark Lord's sanctuary to stay.

"Yes, Master."

"Good. Now for your punishment. _Crucio!_"

The Death Eaters looked on eagerly, most of them, as Naito writhed and screamed under the curse for five minutes before finally being released.

Naito lay panting in the floor after he was released, knowing that the Dark Lord had been unleashing his anger on his servant for failure.

Weakly, Naito struggled to regain his feet and berated himself fiercely when he fell back down and again as he swayed when he actually managed to regain his equilibrium.

"Ganmou. Take Naito for the duration of the meeting and demonstrate our displeasure of his failure."

The Japanese man stepped out of the circle of followers from beside Bellatrix Lestrange and grasped both his arms tightly from behind. Naito saw the disappointment in his neighbor's eyes when it registered she would not be able to watch, much less help out.

Resisting the urge to just transform and escape it all, Naito tromped along in front of his caretaker, unable to move farther than a hair's breath away from the man due to the tight grip Ganmou had on his arms.

Naito bit his lip nervously as they approached the torture room, the room used by the Death Eaters to torture their victims until they died or gave up whatever information the Death Eaters were trying to get out of them.

During his time as Voldemort's trainee spy, Naito had spent many hours in the torture room, which had quickly been labeled by him "The Punishment Room." Not very creative on his part, but it had been after the first time he had been punished and he had been slightly delirious with blood loss before Shrinket had been able to fix him up.

Naito hated that room; Ganmou was always very creative in his punishments, knowing all of his weak points and doing just what he knew would torment Naito the most.

They came to a stop as Ganmou magically waved the door opened and thrust Naito into it, making him stumble slightly and work to regain his footing as the Japanese man closed the door with an ominously resounding thump.

Naito's eyes widened slightly as he turned around to see Ganmou advancing on him, his pitiless expression wiped of all emotion except an icy chill that sent shivers down Naito's spine.

He did not move as the man approached him, knowing it would be futile to run away; the door would have been warded against him and it would just lengthen his torment.

Ganmou muttered a string of Latin, but Naito, lost in his thoughts of what was going to happen, missed what was said, so it was entirely unexpected when Naito's back was slammed violently into the wall behind him, causing him to release a gasping breath of air.

When he managed to regain his footing from where he had fallen to the ground, Naito noticed that his legs were shaking. He had not hit the wall that hard, but Naito knew that was not why he was shivering...it was because he was scared.

Ganmou was a strict disciplinarian and his punishments were even more fearsome than Lucious Malfoy's and Bellatrix Lestrange's in Naito's mind. They just used the Cruciatus Curse repeatedly, but Ganmou had ways of making all of your fears a living nightmare and effectively crushing any hope into the dust.

The Japanese man's eyes were twin spears of ice as they pierced right through him with a look of disgust.

Before he knew what was going on, chains had appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves around his wrists and feet, pulling him into the center of the room and stretching his arms and legs out so that he was immobile.

A second later, Naito's shirt was removed for him to keep it from getting ripped and soiled by the blood that was sure to be flowing from his back momentarily.

Knowing what was coming next, Naito bit the inside of his cheek hard to keep from crying out when the lashes began. It was one of Ganmou's favorite ways of starting out—whipping his victim like a common Muggle, only using magic to set the whip to its task. After that, he would sit back and watch, his ice blue eyes boring into Naito's soul, watching as he struggled not to let his weakness show.

Soon it became too much to hold in and Naito whimpered and groaned as the leather straps beat against his back. He wiggled his torso and hips around, trying to break free and just stop the blasted thing from hitting his back repeatedly.

"Hold still, boy; it will make things easier for you."

Naito paid no attention to him; he just wanted that thing to stop hitting him and if moving around might make it stop, that was what he would do.

Ganmou lifted an eyebrow, shrugged, and waved his wand again. Naito did not know what he had done until the stings on his back changed and became searing pieces of glass cutting into his skin.

His whimpers and groans turned into screams and shrieks of pain and he trashed aggressively against his restraints. He felt the blood from the wounds flowing in rivets down his back, drenching the waistband of his pants.

It was not too much longer before Ganmou tired of this and stopped the whip. Quicker than Naito would have thought possible, Ganmou shouted, "_Electrify!_" and he was plunged into agony as painful waves of electricity flowed through him, pillaging his nervous system and sending him into convulsions.

Before he could even register that the curse had been taken off of him, Naito found himself on the ground after the chains disappeared and he was left with nothing to support himself.

Naito took the time to collect himself as Ganmou had his back turned working on something that Naito could not see.

He wiped his face clean, embarrassed that he had been crying in front of the man and had not even known it.

When Ganmou turned back around, Naito was leaning against the wall where he had crawled over to sit down. Despite the fact that he knew it would do no good to run away, his body had taken over for him and had moved him as far away from the man as he could possibly get.

Ganmou walked over to the boy and unceremoniously hauled him up off the floor and over to where he had been preparing just seconds before. Not giving Naito any time to protest or get away, Ganmou stuffed Naito's head into a freezing tub of water and held him under.

Naito kept his eyes tightly shut and struggled to stay awake as darkness gathered at the edge of his vision. Just when he thought he would pass out from lack of air, Ganmou pulled his head back up and let him suck in gasping lungfuls of air before thrusting his head back under the water.

The Japanese Potion's Master kept this up until Naito went completely slack in his arms before dragging him out for the last time and discarding him onto the floor, vanishing the tub of water.

Ganmou gave Naito a few minutes to recover himself, and sat down to watch the boy regain his composure as he blearily blinked his eyes open, water dripping from his midnight black hair and running down his chest as it expanded every time Naito took a breath.

He just sat there, staring at Naito as he slowly rose and struggled to his feet, swaying dangerously and falling back down again.

His expressionless face was stoic and uncaring as he watched Naito's stubbornness and pride force him off the floor and onto wobbly legs.

"Transform into one of your canine or feline forms," Ganmou instructed.

Naito looked at him tiredly, but quietly did as he said and became a tan colored cat. He did not even bother trying to attack the man, knowing he would just use the Animagus reversal spell on him if he attempted it.

Naito waited warily as that menacing black wand was pointed in his direction. He had no idea what was coming next; Ganmou had never had him use one of his transformations when he had been punished before.

"_Incendio!_" Ganmou cried and a ball of flame shot out of his wand, lancing toward Naito and hitting its mark dead-on.

An unearthly shriek split the air as the fire consumed all the fur on Naito's back and quickly spread to the rest of him. Naito rolled on the ground wildly, trying viciously to extinguish the flames, but nothing he did eased the searing hot coals of fire as they ravaged his small cat body.

His shrieks and howls were piercing and pain-filled and continued for some while until Ganmou decided he could change back.

He lay on the ground, groaning and whimpering in pain again, not caring this time that tears were flowing unchecked down his pale cheeks.

He did not even acknowledge Ganmou throwing his shirt back at him except to cry out in pain as it touched his burnt skin.

He did notice, however, when the man squatted down beside him and pointed his wand at him again. Letting his body take over, Naito flinched away, but was too weak to do anything when the Potion's Master gripped his seared shoulder hard to prevent his escape.

Naito screamed in pain, but Ganmou did not remove his hand. Instead, he muttered a healing spell that completely covered Naito and began to heal the evidence of the burns, but let the pain of them remain.

"Get up and get dressed. There are some other clothes in the corner that were brought from your room. Put them on and hurry up, no dawdling."

Blushing and wincing at the same time, Naito realized that the rest of his clothes had been burnt off and quickly scrambled to tidy himself up as Ganmou fiddled with something at the other end of the room.

When Naito was finally presentable, his caretaker came over to him and gripped his forearms again in a painfully tight embrace.

Naito bit the other side of his cheek, making it bleed as he reigned in the urge to scream. Even though the burn marks were gone from his skin, the searing feeling of pain had not left him and even the touch of the light clothes against his skin was agony; Ganmou's grip on his charge's arms was unbearable.

Thankfully, Naito was distracted from his pain slightly once they neared the throne room and heard Voldemort talking to his Death Eaters about the Orb of Souls.

As they walked in, Naito heard the Dark Lord say, "...my sources have uncovered a clue as to the whereabouts of the Orb; therefore, Lucius, Bella, I want you to pick a team and go to Gringotts tomorrow to look for the Orb of Souls.

"Dumbledore will not expect an attack the day after Halloween. As a matter of fact...Avery, Nott, take a couple others with you and have fun with some Muggles. Create as much mayhem and chaos as you can, but don't get caught.

"That old fool will expect an attack tonight, so why don't we lower his suspicions, and therefore, when we attack again tomorrow he will not expect it."

Voldemort looked up from the rest of his servants to see Ganmou entering the room, Naito walking stiffly in front of him.

"Naito, my _faithful servant_, you will go with them to Gringotts and help them obtain what I seek," Voldemort practically sneered at him.

_Oh great! Despite the fact that he went running around in my mind, he still doesn't trust me! And if I do anything with the Orb of Souls when we get to it, he'll know everything! Now what am I going to do!_

"Yes, Master," Naito ground out between clenched teeth because of the pain.

Voldemort gave him a piercing stare before turning back to the other Death Eaters and dismissing them. As Naito turned to go back to Hogwarts with Snape, Voldemort called out one last thing to him.

"And, Naito..."

"Yes, Master?"

"If there is anyone waiting for my servants to give a counter attack, I'll know who it was that sent them."

Naito gritted his teeth and muttered in the calmest tone possible, "Yes, Master," before turning around and walking out of the immense castle Voldemort had commandeered as his own.

When they were outside, Snape turned to him, giving him a quick examination and said, "Are you able to Apparate back to Hogwarts."

Naito gave a jerky nod of his head and said, "I have to be; it hurts too much for other people to touch me."

Snape looked like he was about to say something, but instead he just vanished with the swish of a cloak and Naito soon followed suit. Together they walked up the steep slope to the castle, Naito's breathing becoming more labored with every step they took as Snape kept a critical eye on him the entire way.

"Would you like for me to assist you up to the Hospital Wing?" Snape casually inquired.

"NO! I can't have anyone know about me! My position is in jeopardy as it is. I can't have anyone jumping to certain conclusions about me either way. I'll be fine."

"If you wish. Would you care for some potions?"

Naito almost sighed in relief.

"Yes, please."

They trekked back to the castle in silence and after a small detour to the Potion Master's stores, they each went their separate ways.

As he lay in bed, almost asleep, Draco rolled over and noticed him.

"Where've you been? You missed a great party..."

Naito's face scrunched up miserably. Why could his life not just be easy for once? Would things ever go right for him or was he just cursed to be hapless?

These thoughts filled his mind as Naito drifted off into exhaustion-induced sleep.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I thought it was ok myself, but the way I see things and the way others do isn't always the same...Please let me know what you think!

**Coming Up: **_The attack on Gringotts doesn't go quite as planned when Bellatrix Lestrange's group sets off an alarm bringing in Aurors and Professor Albus Dumbledore himself. Things become 'hairy' when Naito is discovered as the Dark Lord's spy in Chapter 11: Gringotts._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Willow Evenstar: **Yay! I'm so glad you liked it...it was really hard for me to write and I didn't think it was really that good of a fight scene myself after all the other ones I've read, but I'm really happy you like it! It gives me more confidence in my writing when ppl say things like that! EEK! I guess I'll have to stop then, I don't want to lose this story...

**The-Lone-Marauder:** aite! I will! Er...well, soon for me that is...

**Nicky: **Yay! You were able to read it! His memories were intentionally erased by Voldemort so he wouldn't remember his past, but he still remembered everything he learned, it was the actual happenings themselves that were removed...does that make any sense? Haha! I remember Uncle's voice too whenever someone tells me they have something else to tell me and I always hear, "One more thing..." lol...haha, I like your description of Draco's energetic presence! Voldemort's always wanted Harry to be his 'pet' and now that Naito is under his complete control...if you think that chapter was violent, I wonder what you think this chapter is...

**logi:** well, as to who will find out first who Naito really is...that can only be one person! Who's the most suspicious so far? I'm glad you like this story so much that you'll continue to read it!

**Jin: **Melissa was talking about the weird HP parody songs we wrote in P.E. class last yr...we've sang them b4, but I don't know if you've heard them...they're up at her profile page which is LadayoftheWood...

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** Lol! Bakura: yo! Lol! I love it! Just wait, Naito will get even more on the 'right' side in the next chapter...just you wait and see...

**Professor Moony S. Padfoot: **awesome name...Thanks so much for your kind words and hopefully this chapter will impress you as well!

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	11. Gringotts

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** May 2-26, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N- **Well, I just got back from camp and had a wonderful time! Perfect timing for updating too, huh?

* * *

**Chapter 11: Gringotts

* * *

**

A veil of black velvet hung over Hogwarts school on the Saturday morning after Halloween, and neither it nor the oppressive silence that dominated the abandoned corridors were disturbed when a lone figure walked cautiously, but confidently, toward the Owlerly.

Naito slunk through the shadows, careful not to make a sound to reveal himself despite the invisibility spell that prevented him from being seen, but not sensed.

Glancing around himself every few steps to make sure he had not been noticed or disturbed anything with his presence, Naito reached the tall tower that housed all the school's and student's owls.

Using a spell to check the time, Naito nodded to himself, knowing he was right on time so far as it was a little after two thirty in the morning.

Without a single glance back at what he was leaving, Naito transformed into a peregrine falcon, just changing his eyes slightly so that he could see in the dark, and, jumping up onto the windowsill, swooped out into the midnight black sky.

After a brief tingling inspired by the castle wards, Naito caught a thermal and rode it to its peak, before folding his wings back and plummeting towards the ground in a dive as the fastest animal alive.

Naito loved all of his bird forms, but the peregrine falcon and the phoenix were definitely his favorites. The falcon was able to reach speeds of two hundred miles per hour in a dive, and Naito loved the thrill of the rushing speed, the feel of air underneath his wings, and the freedom of the flight.

Up here in the sky, Naito could be and do whatever he wanted and there was no one to tell him otherwise.

Quickly, before he got too caught up in the thrill of being a bird, Naito got back on task and morphed into his phoenix form, following the train tracks from Hogsmeade for a little ways, just relishing being in the magical form, before the flames of phoenix apparition transported him to Diagon Alley where the other Death Eaters were waiting on the corner of Diagon and Knockturn Alley.

Naito quickly transformed and fell into place behind Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy, the leaders of their nighttime excursion.

"About time you showed up," muttered an irate Bella, pointing an accusing wand in his face.

"Yeah, well it took a bit of time sneaking out of Hogwarts without anyone noticing. I almost had a run in with Filch and had to hide in a closet and wait until he left," Naito lied easily.

"That lousy Squib will be one of the first to go when we finally take Hogwarts. Don't worry, Naito, I'll personally make sure you get the chance to show him just what you think of him."

"Now, here's what we're going to do," Lucius started.

"Bella and her group are going to create a diversion while we sneak down to find vault 412. We'll take care of the wards surrounding the vault and hold them open for you to sneak in and get whatever's in there."

Naito audibly snorted and sneered, "That's your brilliant plan? Draw everyone to the bank before going down to get it?"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed dangerously in Naito's direction.

"Are you trying to undermine us again, boy? Haven't you learned your lesson from the last time?"

"I'm not trying to undermine your authority. I'm trying to make the Dark Lord's plan succeed so that _you_ and I don't have to be punished for failure by ensuring we get the job done with as little casualties to our side as possible."

"And theirs as well, might I add."

"Not really. Look, the Dark Lord sent Avery and Nott out to torture Muggles for a reason...to serve as a distraction so that we can sneak in _undetected_. If you have Bella's group create _another_ diversion that's only going to draw the Aurors and Order members to where we are, which is exactly the opposite of what we want right now.

"Nott and Avery are the diversion. We need to sneak down there without anyone knowing, but leave Bella's group as backup in case something goes wrong and we need a way out."

Naito stared at the others as they all stood over him, eyes full of contempt and scorn of his position.

"Listen here, boy-"

"Look, do you want this to work out or not? We don't have much time and the Dark Lord will be extremely displeased with you if your plan fails."

Naito almost hit himself over the head after that. Of course Malfoy would gladly accept his plan now, but if something went wrong it would now be his fault instead of the blonde aristocrat.

Malfoy looked annoyed at being interrupted, but Naito could detect the slight smirk that graced his face as the implications of what Naito said clicked within his mind.

"Very well then. We'll do things your way, but remember this, boy, anything that goes wrong with this because of you is on your own head."

Naito was very tempted to roll his eyes, but simply twisted his features so that he would not resemble himself.

"Uh uh, none of that. We want to make sure you're loyal; we can't exactly do that if we can't tell if you are one of us or an Auror, now can we? Keep your own appearance for this."

With a forceful sigh, Naito changed back and asked impatiently, "Are you ready to go then!"

Bella and Lucius smirked at Naito's annoyance and he forced himself to calm down and not let his emotions get the better of him. Putting his stoic mask in place on his face, Naito lifted an elegant eyebrow at the pair of smirking Death Eaters before saying, "Well?"

They kept right on smirking and Bella contributed in her mock sweet voice, "Why don't you go first and make sure there is nothing unpleasant waiting for us?"

That time Naito did roll his eyes and stalked forward, not missing one of the new recruits say, "No wonder the Dark Lord's always disappointed with your failures. You guys always seem to get beaten by kids."

Naito smirked as Malfoy roughly pushed the guy aside, rudely telling him to keep his smart comments to himself.

Naito thought of quipping Malfoy, to say the remark was a wise observation by telling him the comment was "smart," but held back as he did not want to be in any more trouble than he already was.

Drawing himself back to the task at hand, Naito maneuvered himself so that he was standing before the great bronze doors leading into the wizard bank.

After probing the wards surrounding the building, Naito wondered how to best go about entering. Calling up his tutoring with Voldemort, Naito uttered a long string of Latin and felt the wards shift into a liquid-like quality that would allow them to enter and exit without disturbing the alarms.

Naito carefully opened the doors, making sure they would not make noise and entered, followed by the other Death Eaters to the next set of silver doors.

Naito read the inscription posted on the doors and scoffed although something important vaguely pulled at his thoughts; it was as if there was something he had forgotten to do and needed to see to it.

Shaking his head to clear it, the Slytherin boy easily pushed the next set of doors open with magic and strode inside, the others following rapidly with Malfoy deftly allocating orders.

"Come on, boy, you're with me," the blonde growled at him, grabbing him by the arm and almost dragging him along with group Alpha across the foyer and down to the tunnels.

Lifting his wand into the air, Malfoy summoned enough carts to comfortably seat all of team Alpha. Pulling Naito into one with him, Malfoy waited just until everyone was in a cart (sitting or not) and started off, the rapid pace causing some of their number to vomit out the side of their seats.

Naito rolled his eyes at all of them; to tell the truth, he was enjoying himself. The wind that was rushing through his hair reminded him of flying. Unconsciously, he must have been leaning forward eagerly, because that was the only explanation Naito could find for Malfoy's sharp tug on the back of his robes.

The further down they went, the more forbidding the air began to feel around them and Naito was overwhelmed by the foreboding feeling that was coming over him.

The others were beginning to show signs of impatience and Naito wondered why that was as it had only seemed like a few seconds to him, but when he checked his watch to see, it told him they had broken into Gringotts twenty minutes prior. Naito's eyes widened in surprise, no wonder everyone was so fidgety.

It was only a few minutes after that when all the carts came to a grinding, screeching halt that almost threw Naito overboard onto the floating tracks. The only thing that it threw him into, however, was Malfoy Senior, who glared at Naito before roughly clasping Naito's arm in a vice-like grip and tearing him from the cart with him.

They approached the platform on shaky, unsteady legs, which Malfoy paid no regard to as he thrust Naito up to the door, so that his nose almost impacted with the heavy steel. Catching himself with his hands, Naito quietly huffed in annoyance and set about quietly collapsing the wards on the vault.

It took only a few moments, but after the long wait during the cart ride, several of the Death Eaters were anxious and began to whisper irate comments, such as: "Hurry up!" "We don't have all day you know!" and "Whenever you're ready!"

For the most part, Naito ignored them and concentrated on the wards.

When he finally broke through and the door grated open, one of the more impatient Death Eaters stormed past Naito into the room, knocking him sideways towards the edge of the platform as everyone else also made their way into the vault.

_Well, at least if I fall, I can transform into a bird_, was all Naito had time to think of before two hands came down on his shoulders and steered him in the direction they wanted for the third time.

When Naito entered the room, he saw that it was cluttered with all sorts of different things. Not only was money stored in the vault, but since it was also someone's inheritance, there was furniture, weapons, paintings, family heirlooms...anything that you would find in a house had found its way into the large room.

Everyone had their wands out before them lit as they walked around looking for any object that resembled the Orb of Souls.

"Help them search, boy!" came Malfoy's harsh command before he too began looking around for the globe.

They all looked around for ten minutes before someone said, "I don't think it's here, sir."

Malfoy growled in his throat and was about to offer up a retort when a loud, piercing wail met their ears.

Immediately, Malfoy turned to Naito, but he rose up his hands in surrender and cried out, "It wasn't me! I made sure all the wards were down in here. If it were one of them, we'd have encountered them at the door. It must have been team Beta that tripped one of the alarms!"

"I'm going to _kill_ Bellatrix when I get my hands on her! Everyone, let's get out of here, now!"

They all scrambled for the exit, haphazardly jumping into carts and taking off the moment they were loaded. Naito and some of the new recruits, including the one that had made the sarcastic comment to Malfoy, were the last ones out, while Malfoy and all of the Senior Death Eaters were the first ones to leave.

"Here, kid, put this on. You're going to need it," said one of the men in his cart as he handed Naito a white mask. Naito donned the mask and drew his hood up over his head to further shield his face.

Just then the cart jumped and rocked on the tracks as an explosion sounded ahead of them. Naito looked to see what was happening and noticed streams of light being hurled in the direction of the senior Death Eaters. Malfoy and the others were exchanging curses with shadowy figures riding large...fire-breathing creatures?

"Oh! CRAP!" Naito yelled, "I never thought they actually HAD dragons here!"

"Yeah, well, I say that seeing is believing, kid! I see it so you better believe it!"

"I'm going to have to, because not believing is only going to get me killed!"

No one replied to that since they were too busy concentrating on the goblins (Naito figured had to be the shadowy figures) that had come up behind them, and had brought their own fanged creatures.

_What should I do? I can't let that many people see me transform...Dumbledore thinks my form is ferret, if I try to stop the dragons by becoming one, he might just figure out my secret!_

Naito's thoughts were cut off as a blast of fire spewed from one of the dragon's mouths. He quickly put up a freezing spell, dodged out of the way, and rolled to the side all in a split second.

Before he even had time to think about what he was doing, Naito was throwing curses left and right, dodging dragon's fire and goblin magic, which was pouring in on the Death Eaters from every direction.

_Thank goodness Dumbledore hasn't had time yet to send in the Order!_

"_Reducto! Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Protego!_"

Streams of different colored light from spells poured from Naito's wand, almost all of them reaching their targets. The goblins began to back up, waiting for reinforcements to help them deal with the intruders.

Naito and all the other Death Eaters had ducked into their carts, taking what little cover they could from them and managing to make it a few paces farther before the goblin's backup came.

"So what's the plan?" all the new recruits turned to Naito and asked, panic plastered to the window of their souls through the slits of white death head masks.

Naito sighed, took a deep breath, and began to lay out a very sketchy idea when they were all knocked into the side of the cart with a force that knocked the wind out of them.

They heard an ominous cracking sound as their entire cart tipped...until it fell over completely.

Apparently, reinforcements had arrived while they were deliberating what to do and one of the Death Eaters from another cart had shot off a powerful curse at one of the dragons, causing it to crash into Naito's group and send them cart and all over the side of the tracks.

Darkness enveloped them all around as the bank's defenses were implemented. Whenever someone tried to break into Gringott's that was not riding on a cart on the tracks, they would not be able to see anything. There were also Anit-Apparation wards over everything to prevent someone just appearing at a vault they wanted to break into so Naito knew that Disapparating would be no help to any of them.

_Think, Koori! You managed to get yourself into this mess, now how do you get yourself out? THINK!_

Naito's thoughts sifted through all the possibilities, acknowledging and dismissing them each in turn...

_I can't Disapparate because of the wards; I can't transform into a dragon because no one can know that I'm an Animagus that doesn't already know...actually, I can't transform at _all_ because of that!_

_What **can** I do then?_

_How about an easy first year spell?_ The voice in the back of his mind supplied_...Wingardium Leviosa?_

_But it's not powerful enough and it will only lift one person!_

_So **tweak** it!_

_Well, Voldemort did teach me some advanced magics...and a course in Latin...perhaps I can come up with something._

Concentrating with all his mind, Naito summoned power that he had kept hidden deep within himself while on his mission and mumbled an incantation that sounded like: "Wingardium Leviosa Maximus…."

Immediately everyone in the group began descending slower and slower until they were hovering in midair...Naito gave the spell more direction and soon they were all moving in the opposite direction.

He almost lost control once and was forced to focus his power and pay attention or he would have had them all skyrocketing into the ceiling and turning into a dark gelatin smear.

They soon came back up to the first level where Death Eaters and Aurors were battling each other; the contents of the goblins' desks that lined the walls were strewn all over the floor, making it difficult for them to dodge in some cases.

The only word to describe the melee was _chaos_.

Naito looked over at his group sardonically, lifted a single eyebrow, and said, "Well, what are we waiting for? An invitation?"

That statement put everyone into motion; all the new recruits that Naito had with him charged into a group of Aurors that had been rounded up and began firing spells.

Naito rolled his eyes; they were no better than a bunch of Gryffindor first years, rushing off into danger without first assessing the situation.

Keeping his eyes open and watchful, Naito slunk over to the edge of the room and kept his back pressed up against the wall so he would not have to watch behind him and started forward around the desks.

When he got close enough, Naito smirked, noticing that some inundated Aurors had taken cover behind the desks and were shooting at Death Eaters over the countertops.

Picking out the nearest Auror, Naito shot off a Stunner and watched the man fall to the ground with a soft, "Whumph." The others all turned to look at their fallen comrade and Naito was able to disarm and dispatch two more before they began firing spells back at him.

There were three left and since there was no longer any reason to duck behind the desks, they stood up to face him.

Naito smirked again...it seemed that those new recruits were not the only Gryffindors in the room.

He did not have time to pursue that train of thought as they all fired at him as one. Naito was able to narrowly avoid the red jet of light that came his way, but not the purple one that was aimed at his legs, which pushed him right into a white beam.

The purple hex tied his legs together causing him to fall to the ground while the white beam impacted with his chest with a resounding crack, alerting him to the fact that one or more of his ribs were broken and knocking the breath out of him as the force of the spell knocked him into the wall behind him.

Naito slid to the floor, unable to get his breath back in time to stop the Aurors from disarming him from his wand and tying him up so tightly that he could not move.

They left him lying there and turned back to dueling over the desktops.

If he had not been so preoccupied with trying to regain his bearings from the crushing blow, Naito would have smirked for turning their backs on a conscious opponent.

Naito hissed as his chest caught fire when he breathed and relaxed so that his body would not be under so much strain when he did what he was about to do.

Quickly glancing around to make sure no one was watching Naito's form began to shrink rapidly into his ferret form.

_Just in case there _is _someone watching and they somehow manage to capture me, I can't let them know that I have more than one form._

When he was untangled from the cords that had bound him just seconds before, Naito used wandless magic to call his wand back to him. The Auror holding it had just enough warning to dodge Naito's spell. The other two were not so lucky; they both went down with little resistance.

The last one had a trace of fear in his eyes as he faced Naito one more time.

_It definitely has to be the mask; I mean it's not exactly like I'm that imposing of a figure really._

_Well,_ said the voice in the back of his mind again_, it could be the fact that he just watched you take out four of his buddies with hardly any trouble._

_You call broken ribs hardly any trouble! Besides, I also had the element of surprise both times!_

_Well, you're going to lose this round then when he surprises you for talking to yourself._

Naito snapped back into reality and saw how right his inner voice was when he barely managed to avoid the spell that was heading right for his face.

_Whoa! That was close! Let's make this interesting and end it, shall we?_

_With pleasure,_ his inner voice replied.

Using one of the tactics he had used against Ganmou before, Naito constructed a wall between the two of them and tapped himself on the head, becoming invisible.

While the Auror tried to slink around the side of the wall to take shots of him while using it as a shield, Naito swept around the other side and came up behind him, using a quick Stunner to knock him out.

With that done, Naito became visible once again and vanished the wall, making his way along the wall once again, every now and again taking shots at random Aurors that stuck out.

With this tactic and the now overwhelming number of Death Eaters, the Aurors were slowly beginning to lose ground and were being pushed back towards the front doors.

Naito knew it was too good to last and was, therefore, the only one not surprised when more teams of them suddenly came flooding in along with...Order members.

"Holy crap!" Naito muttered, "No wonder Dumbledore hasn't gotten involved before now! He's been waiting until we wore ourselves out and thought we were winning before unleashing everything he had on us! CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!"

Naito began chanting as one last imposing figure entered the building...it was Dumbledore himself.

"RETREAT!" Naito heard Lucius Malfoy call out as the reinforcements began overwhelming them.

Naito scrambled to get away like all of the others as he saw Dumbledore brandishing his wand at all of them while the Aurors he had brought with him revived some of their fallen comrades and surrounded the Death Eaters that were left inside the room.

All the exists were blocked off from what Naito could see and despite the fact that they were all fighting as hard as they could, the Light side seemed to be gaining ground no matter what they did to deter their procession.

_CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! This is NOT good!_

Naito looked around frantically, assessing the situation and trying to come up with a way to get everyone out safely.

Finally, an idea came to him and Naito looked up. He was still invisible and no one was paying attention to him so he blasted a quite magnificent hole in the ceiling where the skylight was.

Glass rained down all around forcing some to duck and put their hands over their heads to shield themselves, while others merely deflected the glass shards with magic.

"Everybody! Go up!" shouted Lucius across the din and those that were able complied.

Unfortunately for Naito, his spell had given away his position and the Headmaster of Hogwarts himself was striding over to him.

_Cripes! There's NO WAY I can fight Dumbledore and win! How do I get out of this one!_

_How do you always managed to get out of everything you do, mate? Improvise..._

_Wow, that is SO helpful; why didn't I think of that?_ Naito thought sarcastically.

_Because you're not smart enough to._

If Naito could have glared at himself, he probably would have tried, but he had more important things to worry about at that moment and wisely chose to deal with the more pressing matters.

As Dumbledore stepped up to him, Naito knew the invisibility spell would no longer help him and negated it, quickly shooting a barrage of bludgeoning spells at the Headmaster.

With little apparent effort, the old wizard shrugged them off with a lightning fast shield and hammered Naito with some powerful spells that made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle from the intensity.

Naito was backed into a corner very quickly; with nowhere to go he summoned a stone statue to him and, with a complex incantation, animated it.

With the help of the statue, Naito was actually able to get in some good curses.

"_Immobilious! Impedimenta! Stupefy!"_

Despite his old age, however, Dumbledore was definitely a formidable opponent. While Naito needed help just defending himself, Dumbledore just stood there, taking everything Naito sent at him even though Naito's reflexes were lightning fast so that his hand did not seem to be, only the steady stream of light that poured from his wand.

_How is he doing that!_

"With much practice my boy."

Naito gasped and stopped moving, staring at the old wizard in horror. He had let his Occlumency defenses go down while he was fighting, unable to concentrate well enough to hold it and now Dumbledore KNEW WHO HE WAS!

"Wha-...what?"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Dumbledore managed a kind, tired smile in Naito's direction.

"You have much to learn I'm afraid. Not just about dueling either, but about life. Yes, I know who you are, Mr. Koori; in fact, I know much more than that about you as well. I know why you are here, but I also know you don't really want to be here."

_He knows who I AM! What's he going to do to me now! If he were the Dark Lord he'd kill me after a long, slow torture, but this is Dumbledore; what does HE do to spies he finds!_

"But I-"

"It is alright, my boy, you just need someone to show you the right road to take, the right decision to make. I think deep down you already know what you need to do to turn your life around and are just afraid to take that one uncertain step. Trust me on this, Naito. I _can_ help you, no matter what Voldemort has told you, you know in your heart that what he has taught you is wrong, don't you?"

After a moment's pause in which he seemed to be waiting for a reply, Naito said, "Yes, but-"

"But he has taken care of you? He took you in when no one else would? Trust me, Naito, it was only for selfish reasons that he took you in, he wants to use you, but with us you will be able to live your life freely, unlike the slave in his services that you are now. Will you trust me on this?"

For a few agonizing moments, Naito pictured how his life had been played out so far: tortured for the wrong choice of words, beaten when unable to comply fully with the wishes of his master, and humiliated when he could not accomplish feats that men twice his age had difficulty with. Was that the kind of life he wanted to keep living?

He already knew that he could not let Voldemort win this war, and whether he won or lost, Naito would still be cast out on his own without help.

What Dumbledore was offering was a chance at freedom, the chance to finally have a future. When this was all over, he would be able to live his life and not have to live in fear that his master would no longer need him and dispose of him.

Looking up at the man that could save him from that kind of life, Naito thought, _What do I have to lose really? I've already planned to help them defeat the Dark Lord and not let him have the Orb of Souls, what difference does it make if my decision is made known to the side I'm trying to help or not?_

With a shaking breath, Naito said carefully, "I will help you, only if Voldemort does not find out what is going on."

"So you would like to be a spy for our side while posing as a spy for his?"

After a slight hesitation, Naito nodded.

"Very well then."

Picking up some debris from the floor, Dumbledore tapped it with his wand, muttered, "_Portus,_" and handed the object to Naito.

"Take this; it will transport you to my office and we shall discuss your situation."

Naito reached out, pulling back at the last minute to look over at all of the other Death Eaters trying to flee the room.

"I need to go back with them though."

"We will discuss it in my office...I will take care of you, Naito; you just need to trust me."

Naito took a deep breath and grasped the portkey and soon he was flying through a whirlwind of sound and color...

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Wow, that was a really hard chapter to write! I don't know what you think of it, but I tried...Sheesh, I definitely had writer's disease on this one! Well, I hope you all like it!

**Coming Up:**_ Naito faces several confrontations with different parties and has to deal with the consequences of his actions in Chapter 12: Aftermath._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Willow Evenstar:** Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the chapter...I love torturing the characters, because I love to read about them being tortured and all the suspence and action that surrounds stuff like that...yeah, I can read your story...haven't so far cuz I've been away at camp for the past week and I've been really busy, but when I find time, I'll certainly check it out!

**Hazel-Beka:** Nope...I told you you'd like the torture scene...

**Nicky:** Actually, Selina is the one that comes up with all the torture ideas...and where she gets them I don't know, nor do I want to know where they come from or how she knows of them. You'll just have to wait and find out...

**Professor Moony S. Padfoot:** I'm glad you liked it! I do try my best, but when I look back over them I just don't think they turn out well, so I'm glad to hear that you guys appreciate them. Well, you just have to wait and see what happens next, hm?

**MagicmanSmokegirl: **I have no idea what he reminds you of...I don't even know how I came up with his character...or this story as a matter of fact...these plots just pop into my head most of the time, I just have to develop certain areas. (laughs at Bakura)

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	12. Aftermath

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** May 29-June 2, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Despite changing everything around so that _I_ had no idea what to write this chap...I think it turned out well. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 12: Aftermath

* * *

**

When Naito came to a standstill in the Headmaster's office, the main thing worrying him was what the other Death Eaters would think when he did not make it back to the meeting with their lord. Surely he would be punished for this.

_But Dumbledore said he'd take care of you. He'll make sure you have a good reason for not going to the meeting._

_But that brings up something else...what all did he see when he was rummaging around in your mind? How much does he really know about everything?_

It was right then that Naito decided he would not tell Dumbledore anything that he did not directly ask about and even then only marginally describe what kinds of abilities he had for sneaking around and finding out information.

Dumbledore already suspected him of being a ferret Animagus, but had no idea about his multiple forms, Naito decided he liked it that way. In case Dumbledore ever turned on him or was in a desperate position to reveal his secrets, he would not be able to. That way, it protected them both. After all, who could tell what they did not know?

Naito had seen many men fall from grace after being tortured by the Dark Lord and he did not intend to let that be used against _him_ in any way. After all of the men he had seen come before Voldemort to be tortured, not one of them had been able to resist him and had all given in, spilling all the carefully kept secrets they had hidden away.

Dumbledore had no reason to be loyal to him and therefore, would more than likely have no reason not to tell if he was being tortured for information, did he?

The old man also knew that he was an Occlumens, possibly a Legilimens so it would not matter if he knew that.

Naito gasped out loud as he realized something.

_What if he wants to do a full Legilimency check on me to make sure I'm telling the truth? How will I hide all of this stuff from him then?_

Then it came to him; the time when he and Snape had been going to a Death Eater meeting right after the attack on Hogsmeade and he had shown Naito how to layer his thoughts so that people would see only what they wanted to see and did not even know anything was being kept from them.

It had worked on Voldemort, hopefully it would work on Dumbledore as well.

If it was possible, Naito would also try to keep the fact that he had lost his memory a secret. He did not want _anyone_ that did not already know to be exposing that secret and exploiting it as a weakness against him.

After all, he still had hope that he would get his memory back. Did the Sorting Hat not say something to that effect? What were the flashbacks about then otherwise?

His Metamorphmagus abilities would also have to remain secret as well as all the advanced magic he knew that he had been taught by Voldemort himself and Ganmou. Of course, he could reveal _some_ of the advanced magic that he knew, but not all of it...like those dark rituals...

Naito was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even notice that he had gained the attention of everything in the room. The paintings were all staring at him, rapt with interest, whispering behind their hands as they walked from portrait to portrait discussing the boy with their companions.

A magical bird that had been sitting on its perch preening its feathers when the boy arrived was also paying avid attention to the pensive figure in Death Eater robes.

Naito was startled from his musings, however, when the bird lifted from its perch and settled on his shoulder and began nuzzling his cheek as if he were a long lost friend.

Hesitantly, as if unsure, Naito reached up and began cautiously petting the phoenix, causing it to make a purring-like sound that was more of a soothing song than anything.

That was how Dumbledore found everything when he came into his office after the raid was over. The portraits were all whispering, conspiring together as they stared at the strange boy petting Fawkes.

"Well, I must say this is somewhat of a surprise, my boy. Fawkes is never so taken with one of my guests especially someone of your...background," Dumbledore said, looking at Naito's clothes and the mask in his pocket.

Naito flushed at the comment, but his countenance remained impassive otherwise.

Fawkes gazed over at the old Headmaster, but stayed on his new perch as Dumbledore walked around his desk and sat, waving a vague hand to indicate Naito should do the same.

"Now, you said you wanted to help us by being a spy for our side while posing as a spy for Voldemort's. I am prepared to accept this, but I would like to know what your true motivations are."

"I don't agree with what Voldemort is doing," Dumbledore looked surprised that Naito had so casually said his master's name. Naito knew it was because none of the Death Eaters, not even Snape, had the courage to even utter it.

"What he intends will destroy our world. He says he just wants to rid the world of filth like Muggles and Muggleborns, but I know that he won't stop there. He will continue until there is nothing left in the world. I also know that what he's doing is immoral.

"I've been training with him and his Death Eaters for the past year; in that time I have had to undergo and witness horrible acts and I do not wish for anyone else to suffer the way I have any longer. I have actually been intending to do all I could to help your side win this war for a while; just now I have decided to make it known to you.

"I know what Voldemort will do to me when he no longer has need of me if he wins and I would rather not have to endure it. I want to be able to have a life of my own when this is all over."

Naito noticed Dumbledore smiling faintly, his eyes seeming to stare through Naito to the wall beyond.

"You remind me so much of a wonderful young man I once had the pleasure of knowing. You sound just like him in everything that you said. It would have been nice if you could have met; I think you would make great friends.

"Well, as for your situation we will have to figure out how much you will tell Voldemort as I am sure that he is going to want to know something. You may tell him that you could not go back with the others because you had to be back at school at a certain time.

"You found out that I intended to put up some more wards around the castle, which I have been meaning to do for quite some time actually, and in order to work, I would be locking all of the students in their dormitories for the morning and have their Heads of Houses tell them what was going on. They would make sure that all of the students were in their dormitories and would have to tell me if anyone was missing.

"In order to avoid arousing suspicion, you had to get back before you were found out and locked out of the dorms. Now, I have been meaning to ask you for some time whether you were an Animagus, I just have not found the appropriate opportunity."

"Wait a minute! You do know that I can't just feed him stuff and hope he doesn't do a background check, don't you! He's going to have someone check my story out and he's going to _kill me_ when he finds out I've lied to him!"

"Who says you will be lying? I told you that I have been intending to give the wards a little upgrade; this just gives me an excuse to do it as well as give you an alibi. When you leave here, you will go straight to your common room and be locked in like everyone else. No one need know the real reason I am doing this. Being thought of as eccentric does have its advantages you know."

Naito frowned and lifted one eyebrow, but answered Dumbledore's previous question, "I am an Animagus; I have a ferret form that is all black."

It had not been a lie, it was just not the whole truth, Naito justified to himself as Dumbledore nodded, muttering, "I thought as much."

"Are there any other abilities you possess that I need to know about?"

_Need to know about? Not really...I can share some things though..._

Naito told the Headmaster all the things he had decided to share with him while he had been waiting for the old wizard to show up. Naito knew he could probably trust the Headmaster with more than he was sharing, but with all the experiences he had had that he remembered, it had always been best for him not to trust _anyone_ completely.

"Well, now that we have that taken care of, I need to know what you have learned about the Order of the Phoenix."

"Well, I know who most of your members are and I've been to several of your secret meetings in the last month-"

"What!"

Naito was surprised by the lack of composure on behalf of the Headmaster who always seemed to be poised and in control of every situation. For him to lose himself so completely that he did not even realize he had stood up and lost all control of his normally benign and usually blank facial features, he must have been enormously surprised.

"I said I've been to several of your secret meetings in the last month."

"But that is not possible; the place we have been staying at is under the Fidelius Charm. The only way you could have made it to the place we've been staying is to be told by me, the Secret Keeper. I have been very careful not to write down the password or to even say it so how do you know where it is?"

Dumbledore looked angry now and Naito knew he was worried about the location of their Headquarters becoming known.

"Don't worry, Professor. Voldemort has no idea where you've been hiding out, nor do any of the other Death Eaters besides Professor Snape who I believe is a spy for you. I'm not really sure how I know where it is. I have always been able to understand when others would say the place and just thought you had not put the charm on the house.

"As a matter of fact, I had thought it was rather foolish of you not to. I had no idea that you had the charm in place and that I could somehow understand what everyone else was saying."

Dumbledore seemed to calm at this and sat back down behind his desk, brows furrowed in thought and a hand running through his silky white beard as he considered everything Naito had told him.

Finally, he said, "I honestly have no idea how you could have known about Headquarters without previous knowledge of it, I will have to look into this to make sure there is nothing wrong with the Charm itself. There has to be an explanation for this and it is more than likely something simple that is easily overlooked; I will have to get a second opinion on this.

"Now it seems as though you already know quite a bit about the Order and what we are doing and have been inadvertently helping us already. It would make sense to include you in the Order except that I don't allow students in until they become of age and are out of school."

"Well, if it's any consolation to you, I could pass my N.E.W.T.s right now and the only reason I'm _in_ school is to spy on you. It gives me a cover you see and I don't see how anyone can have gone through, seen, and done all the things I have and not be 'of age' if not in body than in mind."

Dumbledore smiled lightly at him.

"I suppose I shall just have to ask the others to see what they think of the idea. They will help me to decide."

"Ok, but just so you know, I could still get into those meetings even if you don't let me in. If you make me a member, it just makes it easier for me to get around.

"Actually, it _would _be better if you _didn't_ make me a member, just in case someone in your Order is a spy. It would not do to have Voldemort find out about me helping you. It would probably be a good idea to just keep this secret between you, me, and Professor Snape.

"Hm...on the other hand, Voldemort already knows that I'm supposed to be gaining your trust so he would not think that I've turned on him, but _then_ he'd want to know everything you're telling the Order! Sheesh! I don't know what to do, that really is confusing!"

Dumbledore gave Naito a patient smile and patted his hand kindly before saying, "Then let me take care of that. I will discuss with Severus what the best course of action will be and I will let you know. How does that sound?"

Naito merely nodded.

"Well, I think that is all for right now. Why don't you go back to your dormitory so I can start working on your alibi, hm?"

Naito nodded again and left the office, sneaking into the dungeons and up to his room without a single person noticing.

So when Draco opened his bed hangings just as Naito was starting to fall into a restful doze, Naito growled at him to shut the curtains again and stop the light from pouring in.

"Come on, Koori! If you want any breakfast, you have to get there before Crabbe and Goyle!"

"No, it's Sunday, there's no classes so I want to sleep in! Go away!"

"Fine! Suite yourself; I'm going then!"

"Whatever," Naito mumbled into his pillow as he pulled it over his head to hide from the light.

It was extremely annoying, therefore, when Draco came back in, tugging at Naito's arm and telling him he had to get up.

"Why?"

"Because, Professor Snape said everyone had to come to the common room so that he could tell us something. You've got to come; anyone that's not in the common room will be reported to Dumbledore!"

Naito sighed, giving up the last visage of sleep and hobbled his way into the common room to collapse on one of the comfiest couches with a yawn.

"Now, I assume that everyone is here so I will begin. You are all to stay in your dormitories or the common room; everyone that is here now will be locked in so that the Professors may update the wards surrounding the castle without the distractions of children running around.

"Anyone found outside their common rooms will be severely punished and sent to the Headmaster himself, so I suggest nobody leave. Now, your breakfasts will be sent up to you courtesy the House Elves if you are worried of starving to death, therefore, I wish to hear no complaints from any of you. Is this clear?"

"Yes, Professor," the room chorused as everyone found themselves seats to sit in.

As Snape left through the portrait hole, one of the sixth year bullies that did not have a Death Eater parent came up to Naito, which every Death Eater child knew was a bad idea, and said forcefully, "Hey, you're in my seat! Get out now! I want to sit there!"

Being in one of the comfiest seats in the common room, Naito could understand what the boy was whining over, but he had had a long night and was in no mood to be generous.

"So what?"

"So what! That's my seat you're sitting in and I want you to get out now!"

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do if I refuse?"

"I'll move you myself!"

"I'd like to see you try," stated Naito in a perfectly level tone.

All of the Slytherins in the commons looked over and "oohed" as they eagerly anticipated a fight.

"Very well! _Tri-Serpensortia!_"

With that, three very enraged snakes shot out of the boy's wand and landed on Naito, hissing and spitting at him.

At once, Draco leapt up off the couch and shot across the room in fright.

Naito rolled his eyes and vanished the snakes with a wave of his bare hand. He would have talked to the snakes like his master taught him, but did not want word to get out that he was a Parselmouth. It could not lead to anything good.

With that accomplished, Naito looked up to the boy who was fuming silently, his face turning purple with rage.

Without any regard for safety, the boy began pelting Naito and the entire couch with flames.

This made Naito extremely angry as not only could the flames hurt him badly, but it could catch everything on fire and with the common room locked, they would all be trapped in with the fire with no way to escape.

This was no longer a game; Naito quickly doused all the flames that had caught on everything and petrified the burley sixth year.

"You IDIOT! Do you have ANY IDEA what would have happened if you had managed to catch everything on fire! WE WOULD ALL BE DEAD! They have LOCKED us in here, or do you not understand that! What if the fire had gotten out of control so that no one could put it out! WE WOULD ALL BE TRAPPED IN HERE AND BURN TO DEATH!

"Some of you in here need to grow up and learn to make the right decisions! You're all SLYTHERINS for Merlin's sake! You're supposed to be cunning and ambitious! Use your heads for once and have a LITTLE COMMON SENSE! Where's that Slytherin sense of preserving yourself? Do you WANT to get yourselves KILLED!"

Several heads shook.

"THEN ACT LIKE IT!"

With that, Naito stormed back to the dormitory chagrined and back to his bed where he slept till lunch.

As he sat at the table between his year mates, Naito began to wonder when he would be summoned to answer for what happened at Gringotts. The answer came as soon as he thought it in the form of a black eagle owl.

It swooped into the room and dropped off an emerald green envelope with black lettering addressed to him. Everyone in the room looked at him as all the mail had come while everyone was locked in their dorms.

Opening the letter, Naito saw the short message scrawled onto its surface in silver lettering.

_Since there are no classes on Sundays, you will report to the meeting point directly upon receiving this message._

There was no signature or address so that no one would know who it was directed to if they just happened to pick up the letter by itself. The only thing giving away its evil intentions was the Dark Mark that was printed at the bottom of the page.

Naito handed the letter to Draco and whispered for him to get rid of it.

After that was taken care of, Naito looked up at the Head Table. He did not meet the Headmaster's eyes, which were gazing at him curiously, that would alert unwanted parties.

Instead he met the intent onyx stare of his Head of House and sent a miniscule nod in his direction. Then he got up and left the Great Hall, noticing as he did that Snape had gotten up as well and was whispering something in Dumbledore's ear, _probably telling him I've been summoned_, Naito mused.

Once out in the hallway, Naito started for the Entrance Hall, but was waylaid by two excited Gryffindors.

"Naito! We're so glad we got a chance to talk to you! Dumbledore told us that you changed sides for good! We're just so happy that we were able to get through to you before it was too late."

"Um...yeah, what she said mate. Can't wait to see ya at the next DA meeting. We'll see ya around, alright?"

"Yes, I'm sure you will. Now, if you will excuse me I must be on my way."

"Whatever you say, mate, later."

As the trio parted ways, none of them noticed the pair of eyes that had watched the exchange and hurry up to the Owlery to dash off a quick note.

Naito met Snape out in front of the doors.

"Good luck, Mr. Koori. If anyone asks where you have gone, you are in my office discussing your Potion's grade. That should keep anyone nosing around from discovering the real reason for your departure."

"Thank you for the cover story, Professor. I'll be sure to let you know what happens so you can report it to the Head of the Order. After all, it would not do to have you discussing my Potion's grade with me when I'm not there!"

Snape nodded and entered through the front doors.

Naito headed in the other direction and Apparated directly into Voldemort's Headquarters. Bowing low to the ground, Naito waited for his master to acknowledge his presence before crawling forward and kissing the hem of his robes.

"You may rise. I trust you had no problems getting out of the castle?"

"No, Master. Professor Snape is covering for me. Everyone else thinks I'm in his office discussing my Potion's grade."

"Very good. I will have to reward him for his loyalty."

Naito shivered unconsciously. He thought, now that he was openly defying the Dark Lord he would feel slightly different, but everything felt the same as when he had simply been spying on the Dark Lord for himself. It was to be expected he supposed.

"Yes, Master."

"Now, I wish to know why you did not report back with everyone else after your mission failed yesterday."

"I am sorry not to have told you beforehand, but I have finally managed to sneak into Dumbledore's office and overheard him telling some of his Order that they would be strengthening the wards around the castle and would be locking the students into their rooms for the duration. Anyone that was found not to be there was to be reported to the Headmaster directly.

"Dumbledore was at the battle yesterday. I knew if I did not leave and make it back in time he would add up the figures and know that I was at Gringotts. He already suspected me of aiding your service, Master. I did not wish to give him reason to put me in Azkaban where I would be of no use to you."

Just as Naito finished explaining, Wormtail entered the room a letter in hand, which he handed to Voldemort with a bow. When he went to leave, Voldemort ordered, "Stay," and stay he did, just out of sight beside the Dark Lord's throne where the red-eyed lizard was perusing his mail.

"Well, this is interesting. It seems that you have 'switched-sides' according to this letter from Miss Parkison."

"I have no knowledge of which you speak, Master. I have always been loyal to you. What is the girl referring to, if I may ask?" Naito replied easily behind a mask of calm, aided by his Occlumency shield while in reality, his body was a mass of nerves as adrenaline coursed through his body in panic as sweat beaded on his forehead and his hands.

"She says she overhead a...discussion...of yours that you had in the Great Hall with two Gryffindors. They said, and I quote, 'Dumbledore told us that you changed sides for good! We're just so happy that we were able to get through to you before it was too late.' Can you tell me what this is about?"

Naito almost breathed a sigh of relief, he did not _know_ if Naito had switched sides or not, he was merely following up on a suspicion. Well, this he could deal with.

"After I helped fight off your Death Eaters in the attack on Hogsmeade, not only was I able to convince Ron and Hermione that my loyalty was to them, but I was also able to persuade the Headmaster as well."

Naito had learned some lessons about lying along his journey to be the best spy ever, when lying, always speak in vague sentences, give just enough detail to be convincing and let the rest take care of itself.

"I thought as much. Although I am surprised the Muggle-loving fool is so willing to believe you just on that account after he's already suspected you, but I suppose his belief that everyone is innocent until proven guilty is clouding his mind once again."

"Now, would you care to tell me _why_ the raid on the bank failed? I do believe I said that if _any_ Aurors showed up, waiting for you, that I would hold you accountable?"

Naito inwardly cringed; outwardly, he straightened up and actually looked into the ruby-red eyes that caught every detail of everything around him.

"Yes, you said you would blame me if the Aurors were _waiting_ on us, but from what I recall of last night it was Bellatrix Lestrange's fault that our mission failed."

"What was that, boy?" the Dark Lord hissed dangerously.

"I said it was Bellatrix's fault."

"Explain."

"We made it down to the vault you indicated with no resistance and were able to make our way inside. We found nothing there but some gold and furniture. Everything else was useless bits of house ware. The Orb of Souls was nowhere in sight so we left.

"As we were getting back into the carts, we heard the alarms going off upstairs where Bella's group was and it was made obvious that they had set off the alarms in the building. We did our best from there and were winning until Dumbledore came with reinforcements."

Voldemort glared at Naito for a minute, using Legilimency to determine the truth of his statement then finally called Wormtail to his side.

"Yes, Master?"

"Hold out your arm, Wormtail; I wish to summon Lucius and Bella to me."

"Yes, Master," Wormtail replied, wincing in anticipation.

Voldemort pressed his fingers to the black mark that stood out clearly on Pettigrew's skin and the rat let out a fresh howl of misery as the searing pain flashed through him. When Voldemort let go, Wormtail stepped back over to the side, cradling his arm close to his chest.

Naito stood silent and still when the unmasked Malfoy and Lestrange entered the chamber and bowed before their lord, kissing the hem of his robes before straightening when asked.

"When I questioned you yesterday, the both of you blamed the failure of the attack on my spy," the Dark Lord indicated Naito, "when in reality it was your fault," he pointed to Bellatrix, "for setting off the alarms! What do you have to say to answer to that?"

Bellatrix fell to her knees muttering useless apologies only to receive a _Crucio_ for her trouble.

"So you are at fault. Stand over there, I will deal with the both of you in a minute. Now, Naito, my little night," Voldemort said as he took the curse off Bella and approached Naito, running his hand through Naito's hair as if he were some sort of exotic animal he was petting and only kept to amuse himself, "you have finally managed to instill some faith in yourself. I trust you will not disappoint me?"

Naito shuddered despite himself and saw the Dark Lord smirk at the motion as he continued his petting.

"Yes, Master."

"You have succeeded in making the Muggle-loving fool trust you and have been successful in entering his office while he discusses plans with Order members. I trust you will bring me sufficient information from now on?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good," Voldemort finally let go of him and returned to his seat, relishing in the fear of his underlings, "now, tell me what else you managed to find out while you were spying on Dumbledore and discovered this plan to update the wards. Who was he talking to?"

_Uh oh, he's trying to get me to tell him who the Order members are! Ok, so who does he know about already? Weasley, McGonagall, Moody, Lupin..._

"He was speaking with McGonagall and the werewolf."

Those two, he at least knew were tucked away safely: one at Hogwarts with Dumbledore and the other in a secure location under the Fidelius Charm.

"And what else were they discussing?" Voldemort said impatiently.

"Somehow they know what you are looking for, Master. They know you seek the Orb and Dumbledore at least knows what it does, but he would not explain its effects to the others."

Voldemort stood up at that and paced around the room. He did not say a word out loud, but the others knew he was contemplating this new development.

"What do you wish for me to do?"

"I want to know what all he knows or thinks he knows about the Orb. If he has more knowledge of it than I then he may know where it is hidden. He can lead me to it. Keep an eye on him and let me know directly about anything he says about it! Go now, I need to think."

Naito bowed casually and left, thinking that it had been one of the shortest and _easiest _meetings he had ever attended.

After ducking and dodging several people, Naito managed to sneak his way into the Potion's Office when he made it back to the castle.

"Ah, Mr. Koori. I see you have returned; you appear to be unharmed, but I could be wrong. Are there any potion's you require?"

"No sir. I didn't get punished. He was too preoccupied wondering what the Headmaster knows about the Orb of Souls. He's sent me to find out. I'm supposed to be sneaking into Professor Dumbledore's office to find out anything and everything he knows, about that _and_ the Order of Phoenix."

"I see. Is there anything else?"

"No, he just asked me why I left Gringotts before coming to the meeting and what went wrong. Besides that, he just punished Bellatrix Lestrange for setting the alarm off."

"Very well then. I trust you understand potions well enough now, not to need my help for a while longer," Snape said as Naito opened the door to leave.

"Well, I might still need help so I reserve the right to ask again, but I think I'm settled for now, Professor."

"Good day then, Mr. Koori."

"You too, Professor," and with that, Naito headed off to the Room of Requirement to release some of the tension that had been building up in him ever since his meeting with Voldemort when he told Naito that he would have to fight at Gringotts.

Naito checked to make sure the hallway was empty before he imagined what his room would look like as he paced the hall three times.

Naito smirked when he walked in, it was perfect. An obstacle course of sorts had been erected off to one side, while the other side of the room was left clear, with immobile dummies against the wall, waiting to be turned on and fought against.

It was perfect.

Deciding to get warmed up before doing anything too strenuous, he did not want to pull anything after all, Naito began with some routine exercises—push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, and everything else he could think of.

When that was finished, he stretched every muscle that he was able and started on some katas.

When he was sufficiently warmed up, Naito raced over to the obstacle course and went through it several times.

First, he had to crawl under a threading of ropes, made harder because they magically moved like vines. Then, Naito had to run to the next object, which was climbing a rope to the top of a platform and mountain climbing down the enhanced backside.

After that, he would shoot up a latter of bars to swing across the endless amount of monkey bars and finally jump down at the drop off on the end. The tire swings were definitely his favorite, trying to cross the swinging masses of tires without touching the ground, followed by climbing a netting of Acromantula silk, and sliding down a rope.

He did think it was challenging, of course, when he had to jump through flaming hoops and had to stop running for a moments to put out his clothes. Next, he had to cross a log that had been propped up on two foundations, which he noticed that the log had rotten spots that he must avoid to keep the felled tree from collapsing.

He tried to race across that as fast as he could without making any mistakes before he was finally finished. All in all, it had been a fun exercise.

_I need to do this again sometime_, he thought, his tension from earlier turning into excitement as he relaxed into the physical training.

When he finished going through the course multiple times, Naito headed over to the dummies, starting out with one and then turning them all on so that it became a full fledged duel. They only shot Stinging Hexes at him, which he counted to mean that he was dead every time he got hit with them. He was extremely happy with the practice when he managed to only get killed five times during the duel.

Intending to work on his spells and blocking, Naito cast a volleywall and got into a dueling sequence. It was during this practice when someone walked in. He had just cast a very strong blasting curse when he heard the door open, his attention was divided as he glanced over to see Ginny standing in the doorway, gaping at the sight of the obstacle course, only to be hit from the front by his very own blasting curse.

The impact sent him reeling in the opposite direction so that he hit the wall behind him _hard_ and blacked out as he slid down the wall, Ginny's cries of, "NAITO! Oh no! Naito!" ringing in his ears.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **I'm afraid I'm having some issues with my email or something so my beta reader is having difficulty getting me the beta version of this chapter so at the moment this chapter is the unbeta-ed version. I will repost it when I get the other version from my beta reader, Jin Cheng. (But I hope you liked it anyway!)

**Coming Up: **_After waking up in the hospital wing from his accident, Naito gets a chance to talk with Ginny Weasly about the upcoming Slytherin and Gryfindor match they are both playing in. Not being welcomed in his group of Slytherin's Naito takes a late night walk and figures some things out and decides to take more action against Voldemort in Chapter 13: Gry vs. Sly._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Professor Moony S. Padfoot: **Actually, some of my stories I do like, this is one of my best in my opinion, but I'm always looking for what I could do better to improve my writing. Besides, most people don't like their own work cause they know what they have the potential to do (in most cases) and know what they are best at...yadda yadda. I'm glad you liked it and I was happy to be home in time to update and have a holiday too. Wish me luck, cuz at the moment I'm having writer's block on chapter 13 & 14...I'm WAY behind schedule...I should have chapter 15 finished by now at least!

**Nicky:** So, you like the plot so far...I had an idea last night, but I'm afraid I can't tell you about it...lol!

**Joanna Potter:** I'm thrilled that you like my story! Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope you'll stick around!

**Hazel-Beka:** Yeah, I think I amaze myself too...I actually meant for Naito to go to Azkaban and Dumbledore to get him out and THEN become the light's spy, but that chapter had other ideas for itself and decided to take control before I got too far into my idea...these stories have a mind of their own I'm telling you! Oh, add mean mice to the list of AIOD...& I'm not sure if the rat traps are going to help us or just stay neutral...they obviously don't want to help either side as they snap humans as well as mean mice...but...who knows?

**RowanRhys: **Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like it! Yeah, I kinda freaked myself out w/the burning torture thing...my yami's actually the one who came up w/it...

**Willow Evenstar:** hey, I know I haven't gotten to review your story yet, but I haven't forgotten you! Don't worry! I'm not sure I CAN write action...I try but I can never think of anything and just have to wing it...I'm really surprised you all like my fight scenes so much! HAHAHA! You're story's pretty horrible...that's funny...as you have more reviews than me...

**Nippledora Tweaks:** (blushes) I'm glad you think I'm doing ok for my age...I'm kinda wishing I was a bit more advanced and professional in my writing, but I try...

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** Sorry for not emailing much...everything's gotten so hectic recently...hopefully I'll be able to get stuff finished soon so I can start emailing more again. Wish me luck! I'm glad you liked the chapter...hopefully I kept the characters IN character! Apparently I did well for Dumbledore...

**WoodElfPrincess:** We've still got a VERY important event that needs to take place before Naito can get his memory back...I left a hit in the Sorting Hat chapter that sort of clues you in on what's going to trigger Naito's memory along w/his most intense vision. Hm...that question gives me an IDEA!...

**LadayoftheWood:** Thanks for catching up...now I just need to catch up w/you...how was the rest of the party after I left?

**Bunny Aino:** Wow, haven't heard from you in FOREVER! Don't worry as soon as I make time in my schedule to start emailing everyday again...I'll email you...I've got a new bible story I'm about to put out, but I need help w/this one part first…everything else is finished...it's going to be called What I Believe, which is just going to be a basic outline of...what I believe...

**Lizzy:** I'm glad you love this story! (squeals) Hopefully you'll stick around til the end!

**phoenix catcher: **Thanks! I'm so glad you like my story and are eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

**Challenge: To whomever wishes…**

**I've given two hints in this story so far as to how Naito/Harry gets his memory back...the first is something the Sorting Hat says and the other is Naito's mostINTENSE memory...see if you can guess what in particular would be strong enough to help Naito remember his past...just leave your answer in a review if you want to take a shot at it.**

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	13. Gry vs Sly

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** June 3-14, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** This is it, you guys...another transition chapter, but like always some things just have to happen so other things may take place...therefore, I hope you enjoy the Quidditch game ladies and gents, be sure to bring along your green or red scarves cuz it's gonna be cold out!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Gry vs. Sly

* * *

**

"He was doing _what_ when you found him, Miss Weasley?"

"He had some kind of charm on the wall and was bouncing spells off of it at himself so he could put up a shield. It was like he was dueling with himself, or the wall, or something..."

Hearing seemed to be the first thing to come back to Naito when he regained consciousness. He could not see or feel, let alone move any of his limbs and his brain felt foggy and clouded.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Naito began to drag his way through the murk and shadow as feeling began to make its way into his fingers and toes and finally creep into the rest of him, giving him life again.

For a moment, Naito wished everything would go back to the darkness and foggy numbness that had settled over him when with the returning of feeling in all his body parts came the pain of blasting curse he had hit himself with as well.

_Great, I definitely don't feel like an idiot _now_! Excellent way to impress a girl, Nate, knock yourself out as soon as she walks in the door._

Naito could just hear Draco's voice in his head laughing at his plight and taking the advantage by making fun of him.

Naito sighed, but it did not quite work. When he tried to draw in a large breath, a sharp, jolting pain speared through his ribs, making him gasp then hiss in pain audibly, alerting the two females of his return to consciousness.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Koori? Where does it hurt?"

Naito finally opened his eyes and found the worried faces of Madame Pomphrey and Ginny Weasley hovering over him.

Before he even had time to completely orient himself, Madame Pomphrey began shooting rapid-fire questions at him that he barely had time to answer before he was presented with another one. When she had finally found out every little detail concerning the accident, she finally went back to her office, leaving Naito alone with Ginny at his bedside.

The Gryffindor girl helped him sit up by propping him up against the pillows behind him. She watched him quietly as he grimaced in pain.

"I'm sorry for distracting you like that. I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"It's ok; it wasn't really that bad," Naito tried to placate.

Ginny was not having any of it.

"It wasn't really that bad?' are you kidding me! You've got a gash about this long across your chest and you're telling me it wasn't that bad!" she shrieked at him as she held up her arms to demonstrate.

Looking down at his chest proved her to be correct as his chest was wrapped up in gauze and covered in red splotches from where the blood had soaked through.

Blushing sheepishly, Naito replied, "Yeah, I guess, but it wasn't really your fault...I shouldn't have let your entry distract me. I usually am able to pay better attention to my surroundings, but I was just trying to blow off some steam and didn't expect anyone to walk in on me just then."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ginny asked, her head bowed, looking away from him, not pressuring him to tell her.

_What is it with girls and talking about your feelings! They should all become psychiatrists or something!_

"Uh...no, that's ok. It wasn't anything really, just something trivial."

Ginny smiled at him slightly as if she knew he was lying, but did not push him to tell her, which was one of the things he liked about Ginny. Any time he had felt bad before, she had seemed to just know and would ask after him.

Whether he answered or not, she always offered him comfort, whether it was silent companionship or a softly spoken encouragement.

"So, I heard you're the new Slytherin Seeker," she said, changing the subject at his obvious discomfort.

Naito gaped at her in open surprise and sputtered unceremoniously, "How did you know that!"

The Slytherin team had wanted it kept a secret as to who their new Seeker was so they could surprise everyone in their first match, which was coming up that Saturday on November the eighth.

Ginny smirked at him knowingly, but only replied with a vague, "I have my sources."

"In other words, you spied on us during practice," Naito said wryly. "I thought only our house did that."

"Nope, all the houses take peeks to see what kind of opposition they're up against. I think it's safe to say that every Quidditch team knows you're Slytherin's Seeker."

Naito dropped his head into his hands and groaned aloud for dramatic effect.

"I'm Gryffindor's Seeker, you know."

"So?"

"Sooo, that means you don't stand a chance against my superior skills!"

Naito smirked.

"If you think I'll be beaten by you, you're sadly mistaken."

"Oh yeah? Then how come I beat you in a duel just by walking into the room? Explain that Mr. My-Skills-Are-Superior-To-Yours."

Naito flushed in embarrassment, but redirected her attention by saying, "Actually, I believe you were the one stating your skills were superior, not me. I merely pointed out the fact that you can't beat me."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that!"

Their banter continued back and forth until Madame Pomphrey came back and shooed Ginny away, claiming Naito needed to rest so he could get better. Naito only rolled his eyes at the treatment and went along with what she said as there was no Snape to cover for him this time.

Several days later, after visits from a flood of students in the DA and some of his friends, whom Naito was very happy to see, he was released and ready for the first Quidditch match of the season.

His cheerfulness knew no bounds on that day. Everything was perfect: he was actually doing something to stop Voldemort by helping the Order, he was finally fitting in at school, and best of all he was going to fly in the Quidditch match!

So when he and his teammates walked out onto the field amidst the cheers, taunts, and overall roar of the crowd, Naito was perfectly delighted to experience the thrill of freedom that racing up and down the pitch on a broom gave him.

He had felt a pang of pity for the Gryffindors as they had walked by their locker room and overheard the reason for their determination to beat the Slytherins.

Naito and Draco had been on their way to the locker room to join the rest of the team while discussing strategies they could use during the match when a cheer rose up out of the Gryffindor locker rooms startling them into stillness.

The cries of, "FOR HARRY!" still rang in his ears, but even that could not diminish the excitement he felt for flying in a real Quidditch match for the first time.

He waited impatiently for the team captains, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley, to finish crushing each other's fingers and for Madame Hooch to begin the game.

It was with a rush of excitement that Naito took off across the pitch, gracefully dodging Bludgers and players alike and swooping in and out of diving patterns, all the time his eye fixed on Ginny Weasley to make sure she had not spotted the Snitch while he was just enjoying the feeling of flight.

After a few minutes of aerobatics, Naito flew into a search pattern so he could start looking for the Snitch himself.

Glancing around, Naito noticed that the other team was exceptionally well trained. Their tactics were deliberate and calculated; they seemed to come from the mind of a master chess player.

"Someone knows how to use strategy," Naito muttered to himself, noticing that Gryffindor was leading Slythering by almost fifty points at that time.

The Gryffindor team was not the only team to go through intense practices; with Draco Malfoy as the new Captain and Harry Potter out of the way, Draco was determined to win the Quidditch Cup this year.

He had all the players up before the sun and practicing everyday, whether they had a scheduled practice or not. Anyone that decided not to comply with these wishes were, to quote Draco, "not going to be on the team for too much longer," so, therefore, everyone decided it was worth their while to come to the practices.

While the majority of the Gryffindor's would play fairly, Naito knew the Slytherin team would not be so honorable. That, Naito mused, seemed like a very accurate comparison to the war between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

The Gryffindor's were the Light forces and the Slytherin's were the Darkness' lackeys. Both sides were determined to win and not give up for anything, but while one side used purely honorable tactics, the other used almost nothing _but_ underhanded methods.

If the Gryffindors wanted to have _any_ chance of winning, they would have to get their "hands dirty" as well in the fight. They would need an unknown factor that could tip the scale in their favor.

That unknown factor would be Naito.

The fact that he was working as a spy for the light might be just what the "Gryffindor's" needed to win the war and put an end to everything. While he might have the appearance of a Slytherin, he was really a Gryffindor at heart, which was a comparison that ran deeper than even Naito knew.

Looking over to check his opponent, Naito noted that Ginny Weasley was looking for the Snitch herself instead of trying to tail him and wait for him to find it himself. A strange sort of pride stole over him at that thought, finally, an opponent that was worth playing against.

During practice, he had been pitted against Draco, who had done nothing but tail him and get in his way everywhere he went. It had been more of an annoyance than a challenge, but now he had a chance to prove himself against someone that actually knew how to play the position.

This thought excited him as he looped the field, looking for the Snitch as well, while keeping one eye open to what was going on around him.

One of Gryffindor's new Chasers had the Quaffle and was speeding towards the Slytherin goal posts, but Crabbe and Goyle came at her from both sides, each sending a Bludger shooting wildly in her direction.

Not able to go left or right, the girl was only able to go up or down. Either option would break the Chaser's formation, which was what the two Beaters had been aiming for, prompted by Draco of course.

The Chaser decided to fly up, but lost her grip on the Quaffle as she did, dropping it so that it was snatched up by one of the Slytherin Chasers, who sped up the pitch, finally scoring the first goal for the team.

The green and silver clad crowd leapt to their feet and roared their approval, while all the other sections alternately clapped and booed depending on whether they were more polite.

It was during the Gryffindor comeback that Naito noticed Ginny's sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. She was speeding toward the Slytherin goalpost, her eyes focused in concentration.

Adrenaline coursed through Naito's veins at the possibility that she had spotted the Snitch before he did. Looking around wildly for a glint of gold, Naito found there to be none in that direction.

Thinking Ginny might be trying to trick him, he followed after her to make her think she had him, only to veer off and race through the Gryffindor Chaser formation, Ginny hot on his tail, thinking he had seen the Snitch.

After breaking up the Chasers and making them drop the Quaffle again, Naito made a steep dive at the ground. Ginny followed after him, her expression one of bewilderment as she looked for the Snitch.

Her face turned to one of understanding as they both neared the ground without any sign of Naito pulling up. She smirked at him and pulled up, looping back into a searching pattern.

Frowning to himself, Naito pulled up as well and came to join her.

"Nice try," she shouted to him.

"Oh? And what do you mean by that?" Naito asked moving closer so she could hear him, still keeping a lookout despite their conversation, which Naito noticed she was doing as well.

"I'll have you know that I went to the Quidditch World Cup when Krum pulled off that same maneuver. I wasn't going to fall for it and break my neck just for you! I told you I had superior skills!"

"Well, we'll just have to see how this turns out, then won't we!" Naito laughed, looping away from her and circling the pitch once more.

An hour later, there was still no sign of the Snitch, but the Chasers were having plenty of action as Gryffindor was now well ahead of Slytherin in points.

_If this keeps up_, Naito thought,_ it's not going to matter which one of us catches the Snitch, Gryffindor will win anyway. Come on you guys!_

Deciding to lead Ginny into a false sense of security, Naito began racing around the pitch, at first Ginny followed him, watching out for the small, elusive, winged ball, but when it was clear that Naito was feinting, she went back to flying above everything to keep a watch out.

_Perfect_, Naito thought.

Not only did the trick keep Ginny away from him, it also had the added bonus of letting him have a closer look at things without being interrupted, and in case he _did_ see the Snitch and go after it, the opposing Seeker would merely think it another part of his aerobatic maneuvers.

During tryouts for the Seeker position, Naito had beaten all of the available opposition easily no questions asked.

Though he had never been allowed to play while he had been with Voldemort (after all, what sort of Death Eater would he be if he was playing Quidditch?), he had always been interested in it and the thrill of freedom that flying gave him, even in his Animagus forms, therefore, despite his lack of experience, he knew a few maneuvers that could help put him ahead.

After Gryffindors had managed to score more goals and up their points, Naito noticed a golden flash a little way above him and off to the side.

Randomly making another sporadic move, Naito lunged toward it, only to be blocked by one of his own Chasers trying to score. Quickly getting out of the way, he dove underneath the other player's broom and arched back up, panicking to see Ginny in hot pursuit of the winged globe.

Without a thought, he sped after them both, leaning across his broom handle to gain as much speed as he could by aligning himself aerodynamically so that he was streamlined as much as possible.

Gaining ground on his adversary, Naito tried to dart forward and grab the ball, but Ginny anticipated his movement and swerved in front of him. Annoyed, he made to get out from behind her, but she kept positioning herself so that she stayed between him and the Snitch.

Knowing that if he did not get out in front of her soon she would catch the ball and end the game, Naito's eyes narrowed in determination and he flipped upside down. Sliding underneath her, he raced after the Snitch, spiraling up when he was in front and snatching the Snitch out of midair just as an enormous roar rose up from the Gryffindor side of the stands.

Wondering what was going on, Naito noted the score on the board was Slytherin 170 to Gryffindor 180. Gryffindor won, but Slytherin got the Snitch, it was the most action packed game since the Quidditch World Cup of Bulgaria verses Ireland, 1994.

Naito landed on the pitch with his teammates, not sure what to expect from them, after all, he had catch the Snitch, but their team had lost. Would they blame him for not allowing them time to catch up even though they were being creamed, or would they be happy that he had ended it when he did?

He never got an answer to the question because, as the Gryffindor team was carried off the field in a shower of victory, born on the backs of their Housemates, the Slytherin team and its Housemates remained silent, their expressions solemn.

Some of them, that Naito could see, had a glint in their eyes signifying their cunning minds working to find a way to still win the Quidditch Cup as they made their way back to their dormitories.

Naito stayed in the back with Draco, casting furtive glances at the other boy every so often, trying to make out how he was feeling.

The past year spent with Voldemort in training had left Naito with a feeling of emptiness that made him seek the approval of any and everyone around him. Despite the fact that he had caught the Snitch, they had lost the game because of him and Naito wondered what this would mean for the few friendships or ally-ships, as the case may be, he had made in Slytherin.

When Draco still had not said anything to him when they reached the Slytherin's Seventh Year boys dorms, only sat down on his bed and pulled the hangings closed around him, Naito decided he would go for a walk in the castle to settle his thoughts.

He did not notice when he was walking through the halls that it was not as crowded as it should be for a Saturday without classes. Of course, since he never noticed, the thought that all the other houses as well as the Gryffindors were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin never came to mind.

Naito heeded none of this though because he was far too occupied with a thought he had been mulling over ever since his talk with Dumbledore after he got back from Gringotts.

He was already helping the Order by spying on Voldemort, but what if that was not enough? Naito wanted to do more to help defeat Voldemort than to just feed the Order information...he wanted to fight.

But how could he fight his own side without his former Master _or_ the Order knowing about it?

He could always go out and find some kind of nondescript robe and mask and just anonymously help fight battles with the Order.

But what if the Order asked him if he knew anything about the masked warrior? Or Voldemort asked him to participate in the battles fighting for his side?

How could he keep his identity secret if he only showed up during the times neither side had any knowledge of Naito's whereabouts?

Other questions stemmed from this: what kind of Metamorphmagus transformation would he use to cover his identity, would he use one of his Animagus forms, and if so which one? How would it look, what colors would he use for it?

There were just so many unknown aspects of being a rouge fighter that was also a spy for both sides.

_No wonder Snape only spies and doesn't fight_, thought Naito to himself wryly. _It's hard enough as it is by itself._

_Well, I want to do something to help the Order fight, so I might as well._

_But what if you're found out_? Asked the voice in the back of his mind.

_Well, they've still got Snape, haven't they? Besides, I'd never have to leave Hogwarts then, now would I?_

His inner voice had nothing to say to that so Naito moved on to another topic...Animagus forms...

_Should I use my ferret form or another one for my new identity? If I use a ferret, then the Order will know it's me, but I don't think I really want them to know about me fighting. This is for me only, but if I use another form Dumbledore might discover me then he'll know I have more than one!_

_Then _again_ if I use _any_ form at all, there's always the chance that Voldemort will suspect it to be me. But they could all suspect it's me just because of the times I'm missing! Gah! This is all so confusing._

_Well, I might as well pick a new form and make it something that can fight Death Eaters...so I need something with teeth...I can use a big canine or feline form...which should it be though?_

_Canines have more endurance, but felines are more dexterous and have more agility. If I'm going to be in mostly battle situations, the cat forms would be the best choice...so now I just need to figure out if I want a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, wildcat, bobcat, or any other kind of cat out there!_

_So many choices...jaguar would probably be best to suit my purposes; the Death Eaters usually only strike at night so a completely black creature would probably be best to blend in with the shadows...Jaguar it is then!_

With his mind finally made up about what he was going to do to help fight with the Order, Naito decided to sneak out to Hogsmeade and find new fighting robes and have a look at masks to wear so his ensemble would be complete.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Naito transformed into a familiar black fur thief and scampered down the hall under the watchful eyes of several paintings, some of which were already on their way to inform the paintings in Dumbledore's office about the strange occurrences.

Instinct seemed to take over after Naito morphed and he knew exactly where to go to get out of the castle. Apparently there were a great many exits into Hogsmeade located in the castle if only you knew where to look.

One of these types of passages just happened to be located behind a statue of a one-eyed witch. Slipping through a small crack in the sculpture (probably used by rats to get into the castle in the past) Naito was able to enter the tunnel leading to Hogsmeade Honeyduke's Shop and race down it in excitement, stopping just at the end of the tunnel when he had to open the trap door to enter the basement.

Before exiting the tunnel, Naito used his metamorphmagus abilities to change his appearance. Instead of the aristocratic features and sharp colors of his visage, in their place was a dull, everyday sort of person who could easily blend in with the crowd.

Taking advantage of his nondescript appearance ability, Naito joined a throng of men heading towards one of the night bars, breaking away from them when he spotted one clothing shop that still remained open.

A bell chimed above the doorway as Naito entered; looking around, he saw all sorts of cloaks and under-clothing hanging on racks along with other wizarding attire on several shelves-there was even some costumes hanging up on the back wall when he looked. This place just might have what he needed to suit his purposes after all...

Naito walked around several of the racks, searching for particular items of clothing and picking them up as they were located.

Starting with Muggle-style under clothing like pants and shirt, Naito found both in a stylish black, which would be perfect for battling purposes; tight enough not to get in the way, yet loose enough that he would be able to move and light enough for him to retain his agility.

Next was his outer robe and cloak, both were made strictly for battle to look intimidating and impressive, yet not restrict movement or make him clumsy or get tangled in the material.

Finally, Naito headed over to the costume section and selected a plain black mask to cover the top half of his face so that it would be shrouded in shadow and be unrecognizable to both his enemies and allies...

The Shadow Phoenix was now ready if there was a need...

No longer did he have to wonder what the meaning of his existence was when he knew he could help those that were innocent retain their light by just donning a mask and cape and fighting those that had trained him.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Wow, I need to get a move on...I like to stay at least three steps ahead of you guys (or three chapters anyway) but I'm still working on chapter 14...it is pretty long for me though _and_ action packed so I think you will all like it...of course I could be wrong, but I'll let you decide...

**Coming Up: **_It is Christmas time and Voldemort has something up his sleeve during the festive season when he captures two Order members that forces Naito to don his new persona for the first time and invade his fortress in Chapter 14: The Missing Members._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Joanna Potter:** Thanks, don't worry, we'll get there...but these things take time...

**Nicky:** (giggles) yeah, I like to through out surprises as I'm sure you know very well...I don't think the Room of Requirement can be locked...remember book 5 when they had to all run away from the Umbridge brigade? The sixth book isn't as good as the others...

**Thee-Unknown-Factor:** Yeah, well, I don't believe the ROR works like that so I didn't make it that way...I may be wrong, but that's how I see it. It's a room that can be used by anyone that requires its uses and will therefore open for anyone who has need of it...Yeah, I read the sixth book, but I didn't like it that much...the end was really good, but the rest of it...I don't think JK put much heart into it...Harry doesn't seem to feel anything about his godfather dying and everybody just suddenly falls in love all at once...what's up with that? I mean, I like the pairings, but it would have been better if she'd eased them into it instead of the rushing way that she did. But that's just my opinion...I really like the Horcrux idea though and I have no idea what to believe about Snape...

**logi: **thanks! And here's your next dose!

**Willow Evenstar: **Shoo! (wipes brow) glad you think my characters are in character...that's what I've been most worried about, _especially _Voldemort! And Dumbledore...Thanks for the insight!

**MagicmanSmokegirl: **I really need to send you guys an email...I almost did it today, but a friend of mine called and I went over to her house instead...didn't get on the computer at all. --U Yeah, I was worried too, but I finally managed to escape! Selina and Beka were able to use the Shadow Realm to get through and rescue me! Yep, read the sixth book...what I think of it-in part-is in my review response to Thee-Unknown-Factor above...yeah, I know...Snape would never be that nice to Harry, but I figure, 1) he's nicer to anyone in Slytherin 2) he's a whole lot politer (I won't say DE are very NICE) and 3) he'd have more respect for Naito b/c he's also playing a double role and of course he'd want to act concerned for someone if he was trying to get him to change from the dark to the light side, you know what I mean?

**Jin:** Yes! I finally got your edited chaps! I think that fact that it was in a text file document was why it made it through...you might want to try that next time...I'm almost finished w/chapter 14! Eek! I need to get busy!

**hprox4ever: **(gives you your favorite piece of candy for getting the right memory!) Great job!

**LadayoftheWood:** I'm quitting my job aug 4 so I can get some things done b4 school starts so I SHOULD be able to read your story in that time (but I've also got to do summer reading too, so...?) I can't wait to see what you've added to your story!

**hotcocoalatte: **Thanks!

**CrimsonReality:** I'm glad you like it so far! I hope you continue you to enjoy it and review!

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	14. The Missing Members

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** June 3-Aug 1, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Here's a super long chapter (for me) to make up for the short, boring transitional one last time..._and_ it's packed with action as well!

* * *

**Chapter 14: The Missing Members

* * *

**

The end of term came with a flurry of activities as everyone scrambled around, turning in last minute assignments and packing their belongings for the return home.

It was Christmas time and everybody had gone mad as the return home for the holidays was imminent. Naito had put his name on McGonagall's list as one of those staying over the holidays, for 'spying purposes' he had told Nott in his last report. Of course, he failed to mention which side he was staying to spy for...

Things had finally died down after the debacle at Gringotts, thankfully, and since the meetings with Voldemort had lessened, his weekly reports had become more dreadful. Considering that one of these reports might give him away as a spy he constantly worried about expulsion from the Death Eaters ranks as he delivered the information relayed to him by Dumbledore.

It had taken a lot of effort on Naito's part to keep from being discovered. After helping Hermione and Ron in Hogsmeade, Voldemort had kept an abnormally close watch on him and it had taken a few interferences from Snape to keep him in good faith with the Dark Lord.

Naito had heard on many occasions the maniac snake-lizard muttering or conversing with Ganmou about him saying things about familiar surroundings and "the effects wearing off in those sorts of conditions." While Naito was not sure what they meant, his vague suspicion about attending Hogwarts before he had lost his memory was beginning to grow and manifest itself into a very firm belief that it was where he belonged.

While their reservations about his loyalties had not stopped them from inviting him to a few of the more important meetings with the Inner Circle Death Eaters, lately, they (Voldemort and his most _trusted_ servants) were being more secretive and Naito suspected they might be planning something big for the holiday season.

His suspicions were proven correct when he overheard two Order members whispering to each other as they hurried through the school up to Dumbledore's office.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Naito transformed into his black ferret form (in case Dumbledore saw him) and swiftly maneuvered his petite, dexterous body to follow them behind the gargoyle.

"Dumbledore!" called Aurors Kingsley and Mad-Eye once they had reached the top of the staircase never noticing the ferret that slinked behind them and hid in the shadows of one of the corners, but Naito thought he saw Dumbledore's eyes pass over him before settling once again on his guests.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" asked the Headmaster in his usual calm, collected, and comforting voice.

"Remus and Tonks have been taken. We were scouting the area just like you asked and found them. There was a big gathering and we didn't notice when we tripped the wards. They surrounded us and _we_ just barely made it out ourselves. We've got to do something; you know he's going to torture them for information! We need to get them out _now!_"

The fearless leader of the Order had his head in his hands by the time they were finished and by the tension that was being exerted throughout his body, Naito would say that he was on the verge of suppressing tears.

Thinking back to his own time with Voldemort and his lackeys Naito remembered the countless tortures he had been forced to endure on account of his failures. Recalling the pain and suffering he gone through at the hands of the Dark Lord's followers, Naito winced in remembrance and unconsciously groaned aloud, which came out as more of a squeak in his ferret body.

Immediately, Kingsley and Mad-Eye spun around, their wands aimed directly at him as spells flew from their tips. Naito squeaked again as he jumped out of the way only to find himself trapped in an invisible box a moment later.

Both Auror and Ex-Auror converged on him, wands never leaving their hands as they approached.

"Well, what have we here?" Alastor asked rhetorically as he lifted Naito out of the box by his tail.

"One of Voldemort's spies sent to see how we'll handle the loss of our friends perhaps? Well, I can promise you, you won't be the one gloating once we're through with you."

Together, Kingsley and Mad-Eye shot a blue-white light at him and he hovered in midair for a moment before he was freefalling to the ground with a butterfly-in-stomach feeling flowing through him. Naito was afraid his heart might burst after it stopped for a second to speed back up again twice as fast.

Naito's feet hit the ground and there was another blinding flash of light before Naito found himself on hands and knees on the floor of Dumbledore's office, fully human once again.

"You! I knew we couldn't trust you. No-good-"

The man's rant was interrupted when Dumbledore finally stood up from his chair and commanded, "Alastor! Leave the boy alone!"

"Does it mean nothing to you that we have a spy listening to our every word!"

"He is not a spy for Voldemort, Alastor. He is working for me. For the past few months he has been my 'source' that you are always hearing about when I give you reports about Voldemort's activities."

"Well, how do you know he's not just passing along false information to trap us?"

"Has anything I told you so far been a set up? Has any of it been wrong? Naito has almost been found out several times because he is the only one that can bring us this information. Even Severus cannot discover as much as Naito does by spying in this form."

"Oh yeah? Well, how do you know he's not just giving you the right information now only to turn-"

"Alastor! That is quite enough of that! I trust Mr. Koori and you should too. He is risking his life to help us overcome Voldemort and I would appreciate it if you showed him the proper respect."

The old Order member said nothing to this, only glared at Naito even as he was nodding his acquiescence to Dumbledore, all the time keeping his revolving eye fixed firmly on Naito wherever he went.

Naito on the other hand was looking at Dumbledore in disbelief. Why did Dumbledore trust him so much? What had he done to deserve the respect and trust the Headmaster was showing in him?

_It doesn't matter_, Naito thought to himself, _I'm not going to let him down! If he's put that much trust in me, I'll just have to make sure his faith is not unfounded._

Kingsley broke the tension by saying, "Well, since you obviously knew of his presence among us, why did you allow him to stay?"

"Because he can help."

Moody only growled; obviously did not like the sound of that.

Dumbledore shot him a look as Kingsley asked a simple, "How?"

"Why, I do believe he is the only one among us capable of retrieving our missing members."

Moody liked that even less.

"He, like Severus, knows Voldemort and how he works better than anyone else in the Order. He knows where he hides out and what defenses he keeps. Have faith, Naito _can _save Remus and Tonks."

Turning to Naito, Dumbledore asked, "Is there anything you need for us to do to help you."

Thinking for a moment, Naito responded with a negative.

"It'll be better if no one really knows what's going on for the moment, just don't tell anyone else that the two are missing. I should be able to just break in a get them, but if I don't come back in two days I've more than likely been found out and you can do whatever you need to get them out."

"And what about you, my boy?"

"Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself."

With that, Naito turned and left the room to its other occupants who were too pensive to break the tense silence that now hung between them.

"I guess we're just going to have to trust him then..." muttered Kingsley in his usual rich, calm baritone.

* * *

As soon as he stepped out into the corridor from Dumbledore's office, Naito walked as quickly as he could, without drawing attention to himself, back to the Slytherin dorm rooms. Once inside, he drew out the new clothes he had bought in Hogsmeade when he snuck out and stuffed them in a rucksack hurriedly.

Rushing out just as quickly as he had come in, Naito did not slow down long enough so that he would not have time to stop and think about the decision he had made. He did not want time to change his mind; after all, he had already said he would help get the missing members back.

Due to this, Naito hurried through everything thankful that it was the Christmas holidays and that nobody was around.

Naito did not even slow down as he pushed open the common room door and transformed into a phoenix, backpack and all, and flew out the nearest open window.

_Hm...I always knew I'd be grateful some day that Slytherins are too wary of paintings to hang any near their common room corridor._

Naito made good headway as a phoenix and soon left the vast, enormous castle that had become his home behind. Flash Apparating as a phoenix, Naito transported himself to just outside Voldemort's fortress wards.

Landing gracefully in the middle of a berry thicket, Naito transformed back into his normal self and quickly altered his appearance to what it had been when he had gone to Hogsmeade and purchased his Shadow Phoenix robes.

Quickly donning the garb, Naito considered his options. Though he had lived in Voldemort's fortress for over a year, he had never attempted to break out of it, fearing the consequences; besides he had never really had ample reason to leave the only place that, to his mind, offered him shelter, food, education, and care.

He was unsure how to go about to proceed in this rescue mission because just as he had never tried to get out, he never had to subtly find a way in either. The only familiarity he had with the grounds surrounding the fortress was when he had been practicing his bigger Animagus forms.

He knew there were great stone walls surrounding the entire bastion and layers upon layers of wards built on top of that, but he did not know what kind of traps might be in place to catch intruders, nor did he have any idea if he would be able to pass them as Voldemort's spy or if he would be able to get back out again with the Order members in tow.

This situation seemed to him to be even direr than the one in Hogsmeade. Then no one had been counting on him to save Ron, Hermione, and Ginny so if he failed there would be no one to report back to with the bad news. He won either way.

Now, he was ultimately working for Dumbledore, not himself and that made a big difference. The Order was counting on him to retrieve Remus and Tonks and if he did not, it would cause them to completely distrust him whereas they only doubted his loyalties presently.

If he were found out by Voldemort however, unlike with Hogsmeade, there would be no explanation for why he could be here, especially dressed up as he was. If he were caught, that would be it. He would be found out as a spy and would be tortured before he was killed.

That was all he could look forward to if he failed.

_Then you MUST NOT fail!_

_Good point, now, how do I go about doing this?_

First he would need to test the wards to check for any reluctance to let him pass. While he may not have the same appearance as when he was staying here, the wards were thankfully keyed into his magical signature instead of the way he looked. They might not be that hard to get past...guards on the other hand...they would be a completely different story.

Taking out his wand in preparation for the delicate work he was endeavoring to attempt, Naito began muttering a string of Latin nonstop under his breath until he was sure the wards would not hinder him.

Aware that Voldemort would know if his wards were tampered with, Naito only made a slight, subtle modification to them. Knowing that Voldemort would not think of something as miniscule as being important, Naito altered the way the wards processed who they let in and out.

Now, anyone could enter or exit the wards as long as they were accompanied by a Death Eater. Naito would be able to come back the way he had come and allow Remus and Tonks to exit the wards with him; it was as simple as that.

The next stage, Naito knew, would not be quite as easy.

Slipping through the wards, Naito circumspectly approached the stone wall surrounding the castle, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows so that he would not be detected by the guards.

There was a reason he had decided on the pseudonym Shadow Phoenix...

Checking the locations of the Death Eater guards, Naito slunk over to an unwatched section of the wall. It was not as hard as he thought it would be. Apparently the watchers felt secure in knowing that no one was stupid enough to break _into_ Voldemort's home, thus, they had congregated at random conjunctions and were conversing among themselves.

Shooting a grappling charm up into the air, Naito managed to attach a rope to the top of the wall with a barely noticeable "clink" sound, which caused Naito to wince despite the lack of attention it drew.

Glancing around to make sure no one was looking in his direction, Naito swiftly began to scale the rope, reaching the top of the wall without detection.

_So far so good_, Naito thought to himself, knowing that the hardest part was yet to come. Hopefully his luck would hold out and would somehow manage to get everyone out of this safely.

Considering his options, Naito pondered which route would take him across the open land to the castle without accidentally activating any traps that may be in place.

_Hm...the training area might be the best bet. Voldemort might not have done anything to it since I left. It seems to be the safest route to take, but the only problem with that is the only way into the fortress from the training area is through a small animal door; I'll never be able to bring Remus and Tonks back out this way._

_I'll have to think of something else when the time comes...first, let's just concentrate on getting to them; we'll cross that bridge when we get to it._

With that thought in mind, Naito scampered over the top of the battlements transforming into something small enough to be undetected when he needed to pass by the guards that were stationed all around.

Despite them all huddling together talking, if they even _thought_ they noticed something suspicious, they would instantly be on alert and Naito wanted his presence to remain undetected for as long as possible.

When he finally came to the open field that he guessed would be the safest to cross, he glanced around to make sure there was no one in sight and levitated himself down from the wall and onto the field.

Knowing that anyone who looked down would be able to see him even in the dark, Naito sprinted as fast as he could across the vast openness, grateful to reach the safety and anonymity of the shadows once again.

Naito was aware that since he was hunkered down in the darkness of the fortress's enormity, he would no longer have to worry about guards until he made it inside where there would be plenty of Death Eaters about and a regular patrol that did both the entire fortress and the dungeons themselves.

The captured Order members would be heavily guarded, as Voldemort would not want to give up his prized possessions and key items of advantage and knowledge without a fight.

This was the moment; this was the point of no return...He could go back to Hogwarts right now and tell them all that he had not been able to make it into the fortress. He could tell everyone that he had been detected too early in the game and had not even set foot onto the grounds.

He was still a child, they would merely blame his incompetence on that, _or his loyalty to Voldemort_, his inner voice supplied.

_Shut up_, he told the voice, but knew that was exactly what would happen if he went back empty handed. That was what they were all expecting of him—to turn them all over to the Dark Lord and betray them mercilessly. They thought he was just like those that went out and tortured and belittled others just for the fun of it.

_They expected him to fail._

One way or the other, for whatever reason, none of them expected him to succeed.

So why was he even trying? What was the point if they all expected him to turn them over or die anyway? Why not just give up the game at this point while he still had somewhat of an advantage over both sides?

_Dumbledore believes in you though...Ron and Hermione trust you now and Ginny never stopped believing in you even though you became a Slytherin. They are the reason you should keep going._

_And what about Remus and Tonks themselves? I thought you figured out your purpose in life...Didn't you say that you wanted to help people? To prevent the innocent from being harmed or taken advantage of like they did to you? What about them? Don't they mean anything._

While Naito could tell himself that Dumbledore did not really care, that Ron and Hermione were only pretending to befriend him on Dumbledore's orders, that they only wanted to use him like everybody else in his life did, and that Ginny never really knew him or ever even would, he could not find a reasonable argument against wanting to help people.

He had made that decision while wondering alone in the corridors of Hogwarts when he saw and got to take part in just a piece of the freedom everyone else was able to enjoy, Naito knew he had to preserve that like it was never preserved in him...the innocence of childhood...the life that he saw sparkling in the others around him.

There was no denying that someone needed to protect the innocence and joy of life—not just existing, but _living_. And if no one else could even see the value of its importance besides him then he would just have to take matters into his own hands and be that unofficial guardian.

With this new resolution flowing swiftly through his veins, lighting a fire in his soul, Naito rose from his hiding spot and made his way into Voldemort's stronghold in his emerald snake form, sliding and climbing through the pipe system just like he had done during that year and a half of training.

Once he was inside, Naito debated on whether he should remain in animal form or if he should transform back to human...

Deciding that staying small and innocuous as opposed to roaming the corridors as a known enemy might be more beneficial if he came across people unnoticed and maybe even overhear some inside information through their whispered conversations, Naito remained in animal form.

The only alteration he made was shifting from a snake into a cat so he would be able to move much faster as he scurried down the hall with a liquid grace that only a feline could demonstrate.

He managed to make it undetected down to the lower levels of the castle and found that he had seriously underestimated how many guards Voldemort had put around his captives.

The way he figured things, there would be about ten or so guards compared to the usual two or three, but there were no less than twenty guards posted around Voldemort's top captives.

It was overkill in Naito's eyes, as the prisoners were tortured, tired, hungry, locked in a cell with no way out...why did he need so many guards?

_Just in case someone decided to try and rescue them like you're doing now..._the helpful voice in the back of his mind supplied without being prompted.

_Shut up._

Naito looked to see which cell they were in and was surprised to notice that all the sentinels were surrounding a cell with a solid silver door instead of the traditional bars that allowed you to see into the holding area.

Naito wondered why that was until he remembered that Remus was a werewolf as Pettigrew had told him during his briefing session. He would easily...well, maybe not easily, but he would be able to break through the iron bars with relatively little trouble using his superhuman strength that his lycanthropy granted him.

The solid silver door however, he would not even go near as silver was fatal to werewolves.

Despite their reasoning on the matter, it actually made things easier in Naito's case so he stopped debating possibilities and shrunk himself down as small as he could into a cockroach and altered his little body with his metamorphmagus abilities so that his wings would easily hold him up in flight.

Once he tested his new body to make sure he had control of it, he skyrocketed up to the ceiling and flew over the heads of all the sentries at the door. Then, dropping to the floor heavily, he searched around the corners for a suitable crack to crawl through.

The form he picked was quite suitable for a spy job. For one thing, they were incredibly hard to kill and for another, they could fit into spaces smaller than themselves if they only squished themselves down enough.

The bottom edge of the doorway provided ample room to crawl under and into the holding cell, which Naito promptly took advantage of.

Before changing back into his natural form, Naito cast a wandless silencing spell on the door so that no matter what happened on the inside, the Death Eaters on the outside would not be able to hear anything.

When that was accomplished, Naito changed back eliciting gasps from both stunned forms in the room.

The response was immediate, despite being unarmed, Remus placed himself in front of Tonks and readied himself for a fight.

"Who are you! What are you doing here? Come to torture us some more for a spot of fun?"

Naito merely raised an elegant eyebrow as Remus ranted at him. You would think the change in mask color, while not make them immediately believe he was their rescuer, would not immediately think Death Eater either. Thus, Naito was amused that despite his strange entrance and garb they would believe him to be a Death Eater coming to torture them, but once he placed himself in their situation he sobered up immensely.

They had more than likely been starved, dehydrated, tortured, and humiliated by every person that had come into the cell with them. It was no wonder that they believed him to be no different. Well, now was as good a time as any to dissuade them from that notion.

"No, I have not come to harm you, but to help you. If you failed to notice, I did not come barging into the room with an arrogant swagger ready to make sport of you, but silently and subtly trying to remain undetected."

Remus relaxed his stance somewhat, revealing Tonks' face behind him staring at him in suspicion as pain glimmered behind her eyes.

"Why would you want to help us?"

"Because, Albus sent me."

Both Order members blinked at that and glanced at each other uncertainly.

Shrewdly, Remus asked, "How does Albus know you?"

Naito smirked, he was still in his covering persona with his altered features and a mask covering his face—of course they had no idea who he really was.

Removing his mask, Naito answered, "Dumbledore has many contacts with which he corresponds and keeps secret, but I on the other hand am his spy."

With that, Naito reverted back to his original schoolboy appearance, which caused them both to gasp again.

"YOU! Albus told us to watch out for you that you were trying to spy on us for Voldemort! Why should we trust you?"

"Because I am your only hope for getting out of here. He never told you I was at the attack in Gringotts and that he found me and brought me to his office after persuading me to work for his side, the right side. I've heard from my sources that he told you I doubted my allegiances to Voldemort," both Order members gaped at his use of his former master's name, "and that he wanted Ron and Hermione to win me over for you.

"Well, it worked, I saw how your side operated compared to Voldemort's and knew I had to try to help stop people from suffering under the same things I did at Voldemort's hand. The only question now is, can you trust me and Dumbledore enough to help get you out of here and back to Hogwarts where you belong?"

Their eyebrows furrowed and foreheads lined in contemplation, Remus and Tonks looked at each other, silently asking the other what they thought of the situation.

Finally they came to an unspoken decision and nodded to each other before Remus turned to Naito and said, "Alright, I figure our situation really can't get any worse so let's take a shot at it, but we have to go slow, they messed up Tonk's leg. As near as we can figure, it's broken."

Naito scowled, they did not have time to go slow, they had to get out of there and as quickly as possible.

Seeing the murderous look on Naito's face, Remus hurried to explain defensively, "What do you expect after being tortured so much! I heal much better because I'm a werewolf, but not everyone has those capabilities!"

"I'm not annoyed at you alright, I'm just annoyed in general!"

With that, Naito gave a quick wave of his wand and a splint appeared on Tonks' leg.

"There, that should help you hold up for a while. Now, I give no guarantees, but I'll do my utmost best to get you both out of here no more harmed than you already are. I heard some Death Eaters talking in one of the hallways I came down about how you guys wouldn't be staying alive for much longer, so we need to get a move on before they decide to come in here and kill you, but before we do that, I need you to make me a promise.

"If we make it out of here, I will have saved your lives and you will owe me a life debt. If we get out of this alive I will collect that debt by having you promise not to say a word of anything that goes on in here. Nothing of how I rescued you or my other persona or any of my special abilities, got it?"

"Why you blackmailing, dirty, rotten, foul, lying, Slyth-"

"Uh uh!" Naito waggled a finger at them condescendingly like a parent patronizing their child.

"None of that now. We all keep secrets and sometimes those very secrets keep us alive. All I want for you to do is keep mine and your life debt to me will be repaid. Just remember if you see this other form of mine again do not tell anybody anything you know about it, the connection to me, what my capabilities are, or anything like that. Got it? Good, now let's go."

"Wait a minute, I never agreed to your requirements!"

"No, maybe not, but that's not the way life debts work, do they? Once I have saved your life, you have to do whatever I ask of you as repayment for this and since I'm instructing you to keep my secrets there is nothing you can do about it, as your own magic will make sure you stay true to the debt of your life."

"You are such a-"

"No name calling please, it is extremely rude and besides, I think it would be much better to start escaping than to sit around bantering all day, don't you? Yes, I thought so, now let's go."

With that, Naito flicked his wand and muttered a blasting hex under his breath only for the silver door to go blasting off its hinges and barreling into those Death Eaters that were standing closest to it.

That certainly gave the Order members some pause, but they were soon shaking their heads and rushing out into the corridor, Remus helping Tonks to keep her balance and walk.

Naito covered them as the Death Eaters that had not been blown away by the exploding door had regrouped and were shooting at them from different directions.

Jets of multicolored light flew through the air, mostly missing, but a very few managed to hit their targets, mostly the work of Naito, who had been properly trained unlike some of these new recruits that had been sent to guard the prisoners.

Most of the Death Eaters had been blocked in at the end of the hall, but a fair few of them were in the other direction firing at them to keep them from making it up the steps.

Naito was grateful that the door had bent in and landed sideways so that it offered a minimal amount of cover from the Death Eaters that were barricaded in. They had to shoot over the door, which had wedged itself between the walls somehow, in order to hit them, but in all the confusion they were having a hard time hitting their targets.

The other Death Eaters were not having as much trouble and had beams of light pouring out of their wands, which Naito was forced to conjure shields to protect the injured Order members as they advanced.

It was rare that he was able to shoot at the top of the stairwell at the enemy, but every time he did, he managed to knock down at least one or two of them so that by the time they reached the bottom of the staircase no more than two or three remained standing.

When they rushed down the stairs to breach Naito's shields physically, Naito abandoned magic for his martial arts techniques and easily overcame them.

When their way was free of Death Eater obstacles, Naito, Remus, and Tonks were able to safely make it to the top of the stairs—Remus leading Tonks up first so that Naito could shield them from the curses coming from the other Death Eaters whose aim was getting much better at striking the general vicinity of their targets.

One of the spells that missed however hit the stairs themselves causing them to collapse and the banister to crumble and fall with a clank onto the steps twisted and broken.

With the panic of the steps collapsing out from under them, Remus—who was helping Tonks up the last stair and up onto the level floor—never noticed Naito knocked over by the force of the blast and onto one of the twisted pieces of metal, which imbedded itself into his side.

Unimaginable pain blossomed up all over his body, most intense in the area he had been impaled at. Carefully and slowly, Naito pushed himself up on his hands, his face twisted into a constant grimace of pain as the handrail came out of his side.

Taking slow, deep breaths that hurt with every inhale and exhalation, Naito managed to sit up on the steps dizzily, as his eyes become unfocused and he could not concentrate on anything going on around him.

He knew he needed to get up, that the Death Eaters were still firing hexes at him and that sooner or later they would be able to see through the dust and debris of the wreckage and hit him, but no matter how much he willed his body to get up and keep moving, it just would not listen to him.

_I'm going into shock_, he told himself as he swayed on the steps where he was sitting. Not bothering to scramble and grope around for his wand, Naito merely summoned it to him and muttered a small healing spell that would hold him until he was able to get out of the fortress and heal himself properly.

Then Naito used a numbing and bandaging spell to cover the wound and enable him to get up and keep going. Taking slower, deep breaths, Naito managed to regain his bearings as the numbing spell worked its magic and took all the pain away from him and he was able to finally stand up.

By this time, Remus and Tonks had noticed that Naito was not with them and could only be in the rubble behind them. They had turned back to try and help him and were softly calling to him when they finally saw him standing up and heading towards them.

His face was completely drained of color and his breathing was irregular, Remus noticed these signs immediately and saw the great, big hole in Naito's clothes and the large amount of blood congealed on his robes that surrounded it.

"What happened," Remus gasped.

"Nothing, just a scratch," Naito lied, knowing their time was running out and they had to get out now before Voldemort himself came to find out what was going on.

"Come on, we need to keep moving," Naito urged when Remus tried to inquire further about his injury.

Knowing he would not get a straightforward answer out of the young spy, Remus went back to Tonks and helped to support her up the hallway.

They were nearing the main hall where the entrance doors were when a horde of dementors came out of a side passage, effectively blocking their path.

A searing cold spread over them as voices in their heads began to form and grow overlapping with each other creating a cacophony of sound in the silence that was much scarier than any fairytale monster.

"Noooo!" Naito cried as he fell to the ground on hands and knees reliving painful tortures and depressing episodes of his life. He was so consumed by the trap of the nightmare in his mind that he failed to notice Remus leave Tonks and rush up beside him, grabbing his wand and causing a silvery Patronus to jump out of Naito's wand towards the dementors, pushing them back to where they had come from.

Once all of them had backed off and the chill in the air had disappated, Remus lowered himself down beside Naito noticing his hitched breathing and slight convulsions that wracked his small frame and managing to get a whiff of some familiar scent over the sweat, blood, and pain smell that surrounded the boy.

He furrowed his brow and tried to concentrate on the smell and where he had last noticed it, but the memory eluded him. By that time Naito had regained his composure and was whispering a shaking "thank you" as he took back his wand.

Both Order members were looking at him with anxiety and concern on their faces, but Naito sneered at them—he did not need anyone's pity and certainly not theirs. He had faced and fought with the horrors in his life the first time, there was no reason he should not be able to do it again, especially not if it was just a mere memory.

Biting out a sarcastic comment about how they should stop wasting time and keep moving, Naito rushed forward, carefully checking the spells on the door to make sure they would not be blasted as they went through and noticed that they were exactly the same as the ward spells.

Glad that he did not have to do anything dramatic to get out of the fortress (besides breaking out Order members and knocking down dungeon doors); Naito pushed the doors open and held them for Remus and Tonks to get through.

Forfeiting subtlety and going for an all out kind of exit now, Remus and Tonks ran out into the middle of the field toward the wall. Forgetting how idiotic and reckless Gryffindor's were, Naito did not think of shouting a warning to them about the booby traps that were most likely littering the field.

The two never knew until they ran right into the center of one of those traps...

"No! Wait a minute!" Naito shouted trying to get their attention, but he was unsuccessful as the ground around them shook and they became unsteady on their feet, swaying like leaves in the wind on their wobbly legs.

Running at the two as fast as he could, Naito managed to get there just as gigantic spears began popping out of the ground under their feet.

Tonks screamed and Remus' breath caught in his chest, both their eyes widening in surprise as they leaned against each other in shock, not able to move for fear of stepping in the path of one of the spears and being impaled by them.

Knowing of no other way to help them, Naito tackled them both out of the circle of shaking ground right as two pointed ends poked up out from beneath where the two had been standing only to sprout into full grown stalks as the duo was thrown violently to the side by Naito.

The Slytherin boy hissed in pain as they all stood up once again, having been slashed across the arm and chest by the shooting spikes.

Tonks gasped as she saw the blood covering him when he checked the damage.

"Don't worry," he said, covering his wounds back up carefully, "It's not that bad; it doesn't go very deep, but for goodness sake, will you follow me and stop acting like naive little first years! You have no idea what could be out there, you don't just rush out into it and hope it turns out alright--that just gets people killed."

They both flinched as if Naito had slapped them both in the face and Naito could only guess what that was about. Maybe they felt sorry for hurting him and were regretting their hasty actions, or maybe they had done something like that before and it _had _gotten someone killed...(or knew someone else who had done that.)

Dismissing it, Naito told them to follow behind him closely and to be careful before he cast a detecting spell to show him where strong enchantments were hidden so he could steer them around the traps.

After that, Naito was able to help them make their way safely through the encampment except for a few scuffles with Death Eaters that were patrolling the perimeter, where Remus managed to artfully snatch a wand away from its owner and turn it against them, gaining the Order members better odds.

"Good job on that, Remus," Naito said as they reached the surrounding wall, "we might actually be able to make it out of here now."

"You mean, you didn't think we would before?"

"Well, that's the thing with rescue _attempts_, sometimes they work and other times they don't, I'm not a seer and have no idea what the future holds. Besides, we're still not out of the woods yet and Voldemort could come at any time."

When the two of them blanched at the mention of Voldemort coming, Naito was quick to reassure them so they would not panic—who knows what a Gryffindor would do if they were panicking?

"Don't worry too much! I still have a couple of tricks up my sleeves, but don't get too confident either; just the right balance of fear and confidence will do fine though."

Both adults raised their eyebrows at his attempt of a joke, but Naito paid it no heed; he had been right when he said Voldemort could be coming after them that very minute and now he began to wonder why the Dark Lord had not already come in person to reclaim his prisoners.

_He's watching us..._Naito's mind supplied and, for once, he did not tell it to shut up.

_How? Why? Where is he?_ He asked instead.

_I don't know the 'how' or the 'where' but the 'why' is obvious...he's trying to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of his opponent—maybe even trying to figure out the 'who' of it as well._

_He keeps setting traps in your path so he knows how he can take you down when he comes himself. Voldemort doesn't take any unnecessary risks on himself...he saves that for the Death Eaters and you may have noticed he's used up a lot of those recently._

_If you manage to get out of this alive and he ever sees you again, he'll know just what to use against you: Gryffindor nobility complex—taking someone you care about and using them against you, Slytherin cunning and self preservation—blackmailing you into doing what he wants, Hufflepuff loyalty—underhanded tactics to get close to you then betray you, or even Ravenclaw intelligence—"_

_How can intelligence be used against someone?_ Naito asked himself.

_Easily, people who are highly intelligent will more than likely overcomplicate matters thinking them to be more complex than they are, all he has to do is find something simple to stump them with..._

_Oh..._

_He'll even be watching to see if you are pureblood or Muggleborn to know whether he should use Muggle methods on you so you won't know what's going on or more wizarding ones to baffle you with the overwhelming aspect of magic_

_Well, he did train me himself, so I could more than likely handle anything he threw at me, but he knows all of Naito's weaknesses, if he sees the same ones in me, not only will he know who I am, but the best way to beat me as well..._

_You see my point; he's watching you somewhere somehow, assessing your abilities and skills so I would expect to see those dementors again sometime soon..._

_Oh crap!_

With that, Naito's eyes widened and his countenance flushed slightly before turning an almost translucent pale, causing him to pick up his pace a little unconsciously so that Tonks protested with a sharp "Hey!"

But he did not slow down; he hurried the two up into the air as he cast levitation charms on them to get them up the wall before he levitated his own self up, wondering why he had not just done that in the first place when he first got there.

Naito had just started levitating Tonks down to the ground (Remus wouldn't without his own wand, because you never knew what a borrowed, temperamental wand would do in cases like this) when, just like his inner voice had predicted, a feeling of cold began to wash over him and he began to sink into his own mind, becoming lost in his deepest fears and sorrows as dementors closed in on him and Remus from both sides.

Tonks screamed from where she hovered halfway between the top of the wall and the ground, not able to grab onto anything and just having to rely on Naito's ability to hold it together and get her to safety. While Naito struggled to control his magic and block out the effects of the dementors, Remus hastily conjured a Patronus to cover the dementors on Naito's side, keeping himself exposed so that Naito could get Tonks to the ground.

Sweat beaded on Naito's forehead as he tried to stay focused and concentrate on what he was doing, which was immensely difficult because Remus was having trouble keeping the Patronus going with dementors closing in on him.

Therefore, it was a relief to them both when Naito finally levitated Tonks all the way down to the ground. After that, both males looked at each other, trying to figure out who should go down next.

It did not really matter Naito thought, while Remus could cast a Patronus to help with the effects of the dementors, he would not be able to keep it up for much longer and Naito had to get them out of there. They were the Order members he was sent to save; he had to let Remus down first so Remus could take Tonks and run—despite what might happen to him as they fled.

Thus, Naito picked Remus up with his spell amid much protest to the contrary and dropped him as fast as he could stopping him to hover right above the ground so that he landed with a small poof on his backside before he shouted at Naito to hurry up and come down.

_Don't they get it? All these dementors are the signal that Voldemort's coming, why can't they figure that out?_

_Maybe because they don't have annoying voices in their heads like me to tell them things? Apparently, you are the only one with a voice in their head to instruct and give insight to them—only you have the wonderful privilege to enjoy the pleasure of my company!_

_Oh joy._

Before the Gryffindors could do something as stupid as try to come back after him and save him, Naito shouted at them that Voldemort was coming and that they should run and get away while they had the chance, as the evil, soul-sucking beast converged on him.

Naito could not see if the Order members listened to him as the dementors surrounded him, cutting off his escape routes as they gathered tighter and tighter in a circle around him, one of them going so far as to pick him up and lower its hood before a commanding voice called out for them to stop.

Naito's blood froze in his chest as a presence more chilling than the dementors stepped up to him when the soul-suckers parted a way through the crowd for him.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A rescue attempt? Dumbledore must have sent you, no one else would be as foolhardy as to send someone to _break into_ my fortress, which brings us to another interesting question...who are you that you knew where my secret headquarters was located?

"Are you one of my Death Eaters spying for Dumbledore, some kind of Magical Creature with an innate sense of direction, or something else entirely?"

Naito snorted contemptuously before stating, "I'm a mercenary, a rogue working for himself to make a profit off of both sides, I work for no one other than myself and will bow down to no man. I help those that can pay me best...as for your question of how I came to know your secret location, I have many allies and have lots of information stored away on both sides of the war..."

"Is that so?" Voldemort asked, looking him straight in the eye and encountering only a solid block in Naito's mind.

"What is your name, rogue?"

"The Shadow Phoenix is what you may call me."

"Well, Shadow Phoenix, I can assure you that whatever Dumbledore is paying you to retrieve those prisoners I can double or even triple the price if you will give me all the information you have on the old coot as well as returning his warriors to me."

Voldemort was stunned into silence as Naito began laughing a rich, cold laugh that reverberated through his chest, but without meeting his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not always paid in money and what Dumbledore has to offer me is more than you ever could...therefore, I do believe I will be going now..."

Voldemort glared at him with those pitiless red eyes as they came to understand that the defiance in the cold silver eyes behind the mask were never going to hold anything other than contempt for him and signaled for the dementors to take the Shadow Phoenix for themselves.

Thankful to Voldemort for teaching him an advanced method of Apparating that was a complete branch of its own, Naito silently vanished in the swirl of a cloak only to reappear at the bottom of the wall, where he found both Remus and Tonks hunkering down in the shadows discussing how they could best go about rescuing him from the dementors.

Naito sneered in disgust and grunted an annoyed "Gryffindors" under his breath, which Remus was able to perceive the sound of with his hypersensitive hearing. Tonks looked up when he did and they both noticed Naito standing there glaring at them furiously, which he knew was unreasonable as they would not have been able to run out of the wards without him anyway, but he was too annoyed to care.

Why did he not think of that _before_ he got tangled up with the dementors in the first place, _Gryffindors were SO annoying!_

"Alright, come on, stop gawking! Voldemort's right above us and so are about a hundred dementors, now if you don't mind; I'd like to FINALLY get us out of here!" Naito shouted in the loudest whisper he could.

His anger seemed to arouse them from the stupor they had fallen into upon the sight of him and they both jumped to their feet; Tonks managed it with a little help from Remus while an adrenaline rush supplied the rest, and they all raced towards the edge of the wards.

Upon reaching it, Naito grabbed both of their arms forcefully and pulled them through with him, finally telling them to Apparate to the Hogsmeade entrance to Hogwarts before disappearing again to meet up with them at the specified location.

It took several minutes for the duo to show up and by that time, Naito had gotten rid of his disguise and hidden it and had paced up and down the road, blowing off enough steam that he had somewhat calmed down by the time the two arrived.

"Ready," Naito asked when they came up to him, "good, let's go."

Then he turned abruptly on his heel and led the way up to Dumbledore's office where Madame Pomphrey, Snape, Kingsley, Moody, and Dumbledore were waiting on them.

They all took seats that Dumbledore conjured for them around the desk and waited as instructed for Madame Pomphrey to finish her diagnosis of her two patients and her treatment of them before they could properly start the meeting.

_Or interrogation, depending on how you look at it,_ Naito thought unpleasantly.

When the healer had done all she could to make Remus and Tonks more comfortable for the meeting, though she grumbled at the fact that she could not immediately take them both up to the hospital wing for better treatment as she returned to her territory, Dumbledore initiated the conference.

"I see you managed to succeed in your task, Naito, good job."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Naito replied, mindful to keep his Occlumency blocks up and his answers vague and short.

There was a momentary pause as everyone waited for Naito to begin his tale of the adventure, but they soon figured out that he had no more intention of speaking unless prompted and was asked another question.

"How did the rescue mission go?"

"It went fine as you can see; we all made it out alive."

And that was it; the Order members were at a loss, did this kid not know how things were done? Why was he not going into elaborate detail of how he had single-handedly saved two of Dumbledore most influential and prominent fighters?

He should be arrogantly telling his story, indulging in adolescent pride by telling them all the best parts and perhaps lapsing enough to share some secrets with them, but apparently, Naito was playing the game by his own rules and deciding to keep his own counsel.

No matter, they would simply ask Remus and Tonks for those details later.

"Well, what happened?" demanded Moody getting impatient.

Naito cast an annoyed look in his direction, huffing at him as he had been miffed _before_ coming to this "get-together" and staying was only testing his patience even more.

Catching a glance of his Head of House as he turned back around, Naito saw a pronounced look of pride on Snape's face as he thoroughly irritated the most prestigious members of the Order of the Phoenix enough that they lost their composure.

Feeling bolstered, Naito stated simply, "It's none of your business, Headmaster. All you need to know is that, I managed to rescue your precious Order members at great personal risk to myself."

The last he shot at Moody to remind him just who had been out there risking himself to save Remus and Tonks.

Becoming irate, Dumbledore turned to those that had witness what happened and said, "Will you two tell us what happened in the fortress."

"No, sir, I'm afraid they won't," answered Naito for them before they could even open their mouths.

Everyone turned back to him, "Why not?"

"Because they've made an oath with me so that they cannot tell you anything."

"What kind of an oath!"

"What are you hiding from us, kid!"

"What did you do to them!"

Questions like these bombarded Naito while he waited patiently and stoically in his chair not looking at anyone in particular, but simply staring straight ahead until Dumbledore was finally able to regain control of the situation and bring order back to the Order.

When all was once again silent and still, Dumbledore turned back to Naito and asked him in a condescending tone he reserved for badly behaved students to get them to obey him, "What are you hiding from us, Naito?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but there are just some things I cannot tell you, for your own safety as well as mine. After all, you can't tell what you don't know. If Voldemort ever got his hands on any one of you and found out my true allegiances, I would be killed quicker than you could say the words of the Killing Curse.

"Of course, that would all be after a hefty dose of torture so he could find out what kinds of secrets I really know about the Order. Therefore, it is in your best interests to keep your own counsel and allow me to keep mine."

With that ultimatum spoken, Naito stood up, only to sink back down to the floor groaning in pain and gasping for breath.

Apparently, while he had been sitting calmly, "discussing" things with the Headmaster, his numbing spell had worn off and all the pain from the injury on the stairs came crashing down onto him all at once when he had tried to move.

The pain was so intense, so all-consuming that at first he did not even notice everyone around him scrambling out of their seats to get a better look at what was wrong with him.

When the initial agony had dulled to a pulsating throb instead of searing, stabbing pain, Naito was able to concentrate on what those around him were saying.

Dumbledore and Snape were crouching down beside him with Remus and Tonks standing just behind them watching on in concern. Moody and Kingsley were conversing in low tones just in the background; Moody keeping his magical eye fixed on Naito's shaking form while Kingsley kept glancing in his direction.

"What's wrong, Naito?" Dumbledore asked.

Although, all Naito could really hear were bits and pieces of what the Headmaster was saying, he was able to piece it all together by watching his lip movements. It was almost as if his hearing was fading in and out...Funny, his vision was doing the same thing...

"I got caught by a spell that hit the stairs. One of the banisters fell, twisted, broke—I landed on it, just a little anyway, nothing to worry about."

Remus and Tonks gasped as they heard this, "You should have told us you were injured, we might have been able to do something for you."

"It's fine, I just put a numbing spell and a bandage on it and was able to keep going, besides the biggest priority was trying to get you two out of there safely."

"You're important too, Naito," said Dumbledore quietly.

Naito said nothing in reply, only shifting uncomfortably under all the attention, which angered his wounds causing him to hiss in pain and his head and wound to throb in agony. His vision finally tunneled in and he slipped into darkness; the last thing he heard was, "Let's get him to Madame Pomphrey."

"He's not going to be very happy about this when he wakes up."

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Wow, this chapter just kept going! It just wouldn't stop (after I got over my writer's block for the beginning of this and ending of chapter 13 that is)!

**Coming Up: **_The battle of titans erupts into chaos as Voldemort and Dumbledore go head to head in Chapter 15: Steal, Kill, and Destroy._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Crimson Reality:** I'm glad, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much or better!

**Joanna Potter: **So, how did you like all the action? Was it enough or what? (winks)

**Willow Evenstar:** I'm glad you like the Quidditch match and as for Naito being Gryffindor at heart, despite his grumblings of his rival house, I think he definitely continues to exemplify the model Gryffindor by his willingness to put other people's lives above his own as you will no doubt notice. (lol) I'm glad you like the jaguar, that took me forever to figure out how to write.

**Thee-Unknown-Factor:** I'm glad you liked it! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** Yeah, well, I happen to be a BIG fan of angst if you haven't noticed...(cough-TBCS-cough)...I must say, I like the fourth one the best. I think the ending to HBP was cool, but that was about it...thanks for the tips...(winks)

**scardi:** Nope, Naito's going to be the first one to know...besides Voldemort and Ganmou that is...but everyone else, like Dumbledore just has suspicions, they won't find out anything concrete until after Naito does...you only have two more chapters to wait though...I will tell you that.

**hprox4ever:** I'm glad you like it so much, how did this chapter go over for you?

**Hazel-Beka: **No, I've just been reading too much of the Silver Mask...its on my Fav Stories list...I'm sorry, I just can't help it...just when you think it might be a regular AU story, I go and turn it into a...weirder? AU story? I don't know...oh well, life goes on I guess, but can you really see HARRY just sitting around doing nothing when he actually thinks he can fight? Now combine our Harry w/someone that's a spy and doesn't want to be found out...what do you get? The Shadow Phoenix of course! Ah, the Order attacking him by mistake...I've set it up so they will have every reason to believe he is on their side...sorta...this chapter and next show that. Hurumph! I don't even like HBP its like one of my friends said, a great big fanfiction...or seems to be anyway. Don't worry about me including any of it.

**Nicky:** I like the pairings, but not the way they all came together like they did. (lol) you are so funny! Well, school starts again today (sigh).

**Basilisk from Poland:** I'm glad you like it so much! I hope you enjoyed this last chapter!

**Jin:** You did an excellent job on fixing all my weird, stupid mistakes for this chap! Thanks a bunch! See ya at school!

**LadayoftheWood:** (snort) You're so weird and funny, I can't help but like hanging out w/you!

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	15. Steal, Kill, and Destroy

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** Aug 2-Sep 4, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Sorry for taking so long to get this up, guys! I won't waste your time telling you why yet. You've waited long enough, now here's the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Steal, Kill, and Destroy

* * *

**

Dumbledore and the other Order members that knew about Naito harboring a secret always seemed to end up in the same places as the Slytherin. It was uncanny whenever Naito would walk into an ordinary classroom and one of them would already be there.

It was extremely suspicious, however, when Naito would be walking down a hallway and hear footsteps staying just behind him, almost as if someone invisible were lurking just a few feet away, trying to discover the mystery to the enigma that Naito had presented them with.

He had been extremely annoyed when one of the times he heard the footsteps following him from a corridor away. Whenever he would stop, so would the footsteps, whenever he would back up, so would the footsteps, whenever he would turn to look and see if anyone had caught up with him, there would be nobody there.

Finally, Naito had gotten so fed up with all of the ridiculous attitudes of everyone that he had stopped at a corner to one of the corridors and cast a spell that made it sound as if his footsteps were continuing on without him.

Therefore, when Kingsley Shacklebolt had stepped around the corner to follow Naito, he found the boy propped up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his face set in a superior look of "I-knew-it!-Now-what-do-you-have-to-say-for-yourself?"

Abashed at being so easily caught, the Order members had stopped following him around all the time and instead were always staring at him from the corners of their eyes, but Naito was pretty sure that Dumbledore had asked the paintings in the castle to keep an eye on him as well.

When Naito went to ask Snape what he had to say about the whole matter (as he was one of the only people that had been in that room that didn't stare at him with contempt, piercing gazes wherever he went) the Potion's Master simply replied, "I told them you would not be so foolish as to leave obvious clues for them to follow like an idiotic Gryffindor. Besides, I know how valuable secrets can be."

Now it was the middle of the Christmas break, between Christmas and the new year when all the students would be returning and Naito was sitting peacefully in his common room with his new favorite pastime—Exploding Snap cards.

It was during his trying to build a tower out of the cards that it happened.

Just like in the Headmaster's Office when school had first started, a pain erupted in Naito's forehead consuming him and causing all the playing cards to topple and explode all around him.

With the pain as an anchor, Naito was able to follow the link that he had discovered he shared with Voldemort's mind and searched for what was causing his intense suffering.

Emotions like glee, satisfaction, greed, and hate washed over Naito in a wave as he accessed the link and was able to view what was happening as Voldemort saw it.

The Dark Lord was having a bit of fun by making sport out of a Muggle village.

Death Eaters were tossing Muggles up into the air only to watch them fall back down to the ground screaming like banshees to catch them and throw them up once more. Naito was especially sorry for the victims of those that were not good at catching.

Horrified, Naito watched as Voldemort and his Death Eaters committed atrocities that were simply unthinkable; now he was certainly glad that Voldemort had only trained him to be a spy so he would not have to worry about all out attacks and be forced to torture innocent men, women, and children like that.

It was with great excitement that Naito saw the Ministry Aurors arrive and begin battling with the Death Eaters and with great shame and desperation that he was forced to watch them fall back quickly calling for reinforcements.

Luckily, Naito thought, Order members began arriving with the backup and they were finally able to gain a semblance of an advantage, but not enough when Voldemort himself joined the fray.

_Desperate times calls for desperate measures_, Naito thought, retreating from the vision and rushing up to his dorm to retrieve his Shadow Phoenix costume. Donning it quickly, Naito morphed into his black and silver phoenix form there in the secrecy of his bed behind the curtains and flash apparated to where he knew the Order and Death Eaters were battling.

Knowing that the whole affair would be bloody, Naito decided that the necessities needed to be taken care of first.

First things first, save the innocent...

It was easier said than done apparently.

Muggles were everywhere, running and screaming, crying and hiding. This would be a difficult task in the best of circumstances; unfortunately, the situation did not even remotely resemble _good_ conditions and Naito was running out of time, the Order members and Ministry Aurors needed help quickly.

Shielding one of the buildings and mass summoning the pedestrians to himself seemed to be the best option at that present time and with nothing left to lose, Naito went for it, making sure to summon the Muggles that were in the most danger first.

Becoming desperate that his method was taking too much time, as it had been a few minutes already and the Light supporters were losing ground secondly, Naito was relieved when all the Muggles had been removed from the general vicinity...or that was how it appeared at first.

Apparently, hidden behind one of the buildings was a Muggle man and his wife and child. A group of three Death Eaters were having fun with the man's daughter and wife until the man pulled out a gun.

Not knowing anything about Muggle weapons, they taunted him, laughing in his face until the first gunshot was fired and the Death Eater that had been abusing the man's daughter fell to the ground, unmistakably dead.

They stopped laughing then and scattered in opposite directions, but the Muggle was so enraged with what the Death Eaters had done to his family that he continued shooting at all the black robed, white masked wizards in the area...including Naito dressed as the Shadow Phoenix.

A shot grazed Naito's arm as he saw the man take aim and fire at him, forcing him to duck out of the way, only narrowly missing the bullet. Knowing that he needed to get rid of the weapon, Naito summoned it and the family to himself, locking them up in the safe house with the others while muttering a _Reducto_ curse at the gun, destroying it.

Relieved that all the Muggles were out of harms way, the Shadow Phoenix jumped into the fray of Order members, Ministry workers, and Death Eaters, reducing the opposition down to dwindling numbers so that the Order and the Ministry could take care of the rest.

Naito was just finishing tying up a Death Eater when a prickling feeling in the back of his mind told Naito that something was missing, there was something that he still had to do...if he could only remember what.

_Wait a minute! Where's Voldemort? I was looking through his eyes when this first started, but now he's gone!_ Naito thought desperately.

Concentrating on the link he shared with Voldemort, Naito followed the connection to the local Muggle library, never even noticing the reinforcements that came for the Death Eaters, once again pushing the Light side back without the Shadow Phoenix there to help them.

Naito quietly entered the fountain flowing with knowledge commonly known as a library, took one look around, and immediately knew why Voldemort had decided that this Muggle place could even remotely be worth his time.

The place was more of a cathedral than an inn for books with its archaic mosaics painted onto the walls and ceiling, reaching up even to the second floor, which could be reached by a spiraling staircase that surrounded the topmost layer of shelves and swept gracefully down to the lower levels between the bookcases.

The bookcases themselves were intricately carved rosewood and blended in beautifully with the décor. Naito had to say he was impressed despite himself; it was an amazing place for Muggles to have made it—not that he was discriminating against Muggles of course, after all, they might not be able to levitate objects or fly on brooms, but they seemed to have a magic to invent things all their own.

Naito was interrupted from his musings when a cold, familiar, high-pitched voice echoed in the stillness of the acoustic designed room.

Edging closer to the sound, Naito spotted the Dark Lord, calmly gazing around at the books that surrounded him completely and muttering charms under his breath for finding specific books.

Apparently, after the Death Eaters messed up the last search through a Muggle library for the book on the Orb of Souls, Voldemort had taken it upon himself to lead a raid to ensure that his minions did not fail him again.

Therefore, he had left the Death Eaters to provide a distraction and have fun torturing Muggles at will while he took his time peering through the rows upon rows of bookcases to find the one book he was most interested in.

Naito was about to reveal himself as the Shadow Phoenix to Voldemort until a commotion outside forced both Naito and the Dark Lord to look up from what they were doing and glance out one of the stained glass windows to see Death Eaters fleeing in every direction as Headmaster Dumbledore stood looking straight at the library where the Shadow Phoenix and Voldemort were shielded, an army of Phoenix members and Aurors from the Ministry behind him.

Giving up his search as fruitless, the Dark Lord turned on his heel and stalked out from behind his bookcase and towards the door muttering about "old-coots that would finally meet their match" as he swept past Naito's hiding spot.

Intrigued despite himself, Naito transformed; his steely grey eyes morphing into icy, metallic silver and his lean, lithe human form altering into that of a jet black jaguar as he landed on velveteen padded paws with sharp, scythe-like claws sinking into the cushioning of the carpet as he slinked through the shadows after the murdering madman.

Emerging from the library, smoke, blood, and all manner of smells assaulted Naito's jaguar senses causing him to snort and flare his nose in an attempt to empty it of the potent smells that seemed to encase him.

Looking around, Naito noticed that most of the Death Eaters had either fled or already been rounded up. Only those that underestimated Dumbledore's power or war veterans with personal vendettas against the Headmaster remained to fight the Light-side warriors and its leader.

Silence settled over everything as Voldemort stepped out of the shadows and faced the wizened, light wizard. The only sounds that could be heard came from the small cracks of burning buildings and the faint rustling of the wind through leafless trees.

"So, we meet again, Dumbledore. I have long been waiting for the moment when your death was imminent. It has been my only hope these past few years that I be the one to deliver the final blow that will ultimately shake the Wizarding World to its core once again as I did with the death of Harry Potter. With him gone and you out of the way, all of Wizarding Britain and soon the rest of the world will be mine, it is irrevocable."

"You overestimate yourself, Tom...and underestimate the resistance that wells up against you."

Voldemort's bone-chilling laugh echoed in the stillness, shooting chills up the spines of all who heard it.

"Oh, you think so do you? What do you think the wizarding community has been doing all this time since that incompetent Fudge finally announced that I had returned? They have been scrambling around like headless chickens, hiding behind the protection of Hogwarts and you...of course there was a time that Harry Potter was in that category as well."

Voldemort's eyes shone with satisfaction as Dumbledore visibly jerked at the Boy-Who-Lived's name as if he had been struck in the face.

"What's wrong, Dumbledore? Do you miss your pet Savior? Do you wish your pocket pawn were still here with us today to take me down and reign victory upon everyone?"

"Don't you _dare_ speak of Harry as if he were some_thing_ merely to be used by others!"

"But isn't it true? Weren't you training him all those years at Hogwarts to become my murderer? All those adventures and escapades you let him parade off to every year with no more backup than mere schoolchildren to aid him?"

"That is not true," Dumbledore hissed, his aquamarine eyes slits of glowing ice as they hardened behind his half-moon spectacles and exuded a power that gave the Mugwump his label of most powerful wizard of the age.

"Harry was a wizard better than any ever seen before and could never be a plaything of anyone, especially me."

"Oh, come now, Dumbledore," Voldemort replied, his tone condescending, "We all know how you treated him the year before he died. If you cared for him so much, why would you leave your flickering candle alone in the dark when you knew perfectly well what the ravaging shadows around him had planned for his demise?"

"I had made many mistakes with Harry I admit-"

Dumbledore's tirade was cut off as the Dark Lord's laugh once again resonated in the wake of the battle.

"You have done no such thing...you molded the Boy-Who-Once-Lived into the perfect puppet for you, but there's just one thing you forgot to add to the final picture, tighter strings with which to better control your dancing doll."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Dumbledore shouted to the surprise of many, this unusual show of emotion from the usually twinkling eyed Headmaster showed everyone just how deeply the death of Dumbledore's protégé affected him.

With that last exclamation, the greatest wizard of the age decided to put an end to all the incessant talking by leveling a well aimed spell at the Dark Lord and thus the fight began.

Spells shot back and forth between the two powerful wizards dazzling the spectators with the speed, accuracy, and variation of the spells shot between them both.

"Come, Dumbledore, you know you are no match for me!" Voldemort shouted as he threw a powerful Killing Curse in Dumbledore's direction.

Summoning a piece of rubble to block the curse, Dumbledore shouted back, "You never did take the time to learn the essential things of life, Tom, and that is why I am more than a match for _you_!"

"Don't you go preaching about love to _me_, old man. You think that your precious _love_ could solve everything and look where it's gotten you—a grave and tombstone labeled 'Harry Potter—the Boy-Who-No-Longer-Lives!"

With a cry of rage, Dumbledore shot a blue colored spell at Voldemort, which froze his arm immediately upon contact, drawing a cry of pain from the Dark wizard.

Voldemort performed a heating spell on his arm, but the damage was already done; his arm had gone numb and no longer wanted to respond to his commands, hanging limply at his side.

Voldemort's blood red eyes burned with an intense fire, seeming to light up his entire face with their malicious intent. With a vengeful growl, the Dark Lord conjured an enormous snake, ordering it to kill Dumbledore in Parseltongue, before casting a series of rapidly striking bludgeoning spells.

Unable to dodge or shield from all of the spells and the snake, Dumbledore tried to protect himself from all at once. He only managed to stop a few of the bludgeoning spells from reaching him before the snake bit him, causing him to lose focus on his shields allowing the rest of the spells to pass through his defenses and hit him.

The crowd gasped as one as the great and powerful Dumbledore crashed to the ground, his wand flung away from him as he lay sprawled, helpless in front of Voldemort.

Voldemort's high, cold laugh resounded once more as the battle of titans drew to a close with him the victor.

The Dark Lord stood over Dumbledore, his wand pointed at the old wizard's chest, ruby eyes gazing into the Headmaster's clear sapphire.

"Say goodbye, Dumbledore..." Voldemort hissed as he incanted the Killing Curse.

Dumbledore closed his eyes in defeat, his face calm and peaceful once again as he had always been, and a few people saw him mouthing the words, "I'm coming, Harry, and I'm sorry."

Just as the green light of the Unforgivable was leaving the Dark Lord's wand, a shadowy blur rushed forward, ripping the wand out of the snake-like wizard's hand, redirecting the curse in another direction so that it completely missed its target and hitting the ground, blasting the cement apart.

"What the...?" cried the Dark Lord in surprise.

Everyone turned to look at the sleek, lean creature that stood between the Dark Lord and his prey, Voldemort's wand between its fangs—Naito's jaguar form.

Muscles, lithe and strong, coiled and ready to spring, rippled under the lustrous coat, which had a midnight, black-violet hue in the moonlight. Razor sharp fangs and claws glistened in the darkness, made aware to all around by the flexing motions the jaguar made, assuring everyone that this was a dangerous creature that should not be messed with.

What really caught the attention of everyone around were the brilliant, emerald eyes that glowed with a vivid, intense inner light—a fire that burned bright and strong.

It growled in warning as Voldemort tried to approach it to regain his lost wand. It was a growl that clearly said, "You take one more step and you're dead."

It gave the Dark Lord pause as he stopped to consider his options.

Before he had a chance to even utter a command to one of his Death Eaters, the jaguar had been replaced with a handsome, nondescript man around twenty years old with short, wavy, brown hair and icy, silver eyes that could look through a person and see into their heart. His face was covered in a mask and his battle robes were dark and polished.

It was...

"The Shadow Phoenix; what a surprise to see you once again," Voldemort hissed, his voice not belying how he really felt about the intruder.

"You just can't stop barging in where you're not wanted can you? No matter, you will soon learn some manners..._Crucio!_"

Naito jumped out of the way of the Unforgivable, picking up and depositing the Headmaster to safety a few meters away near some Order members so that no harm came to anyone.

The Order members quickly created a portkey and whisked the Transfiguration master away to Hogwarts to be healed as the Shadow Phoenix carried on the duel with Voldemort in his place.

"Why you-!" Voldemort roared as Dumbledore disappeared in a whirlwind of sound and color.

The Dark Lord spun around to face his nemesis as the last of Dumbledore's star covered robed disappeared into the darkness.

"This is the last time you will interfere with my plans! _Crucio!_"

Naito dodged, but was unable to get out of the way in time as Voldemort's anger and fierce hatred for the Shadow Phoenix was unleashed upon him.

Naito tensed and bit his lip in preparation as he felt the beginnings of the spell take hold of him. He struggled not to scream as the full blast impacted on him, but a agony-filled wail escaped from his writhing, convulsing form nonetheless.

The spell was held on Naito so long he knew the Dark Lord meant for him to be driven insane by the curse.

Minutes seemed to drag by and mutated into what seemed like hours—whole days seemed to pass before the agony became so great that Naito wished anything, even death, would stop this all consuming, insurmountable pain that encompassed his entire being in wreathes of flame.

Just as Naito felt the edges of his mind begin to bend, starting to break and tear, the curse suddenly stopped.

With no energy left to sustain him, Naito collapsed, barely catching a glimpse of two lingering Order members amongst the Aurors.

Apparently, Tonks and Remus had recognized him, and in seeing what he had done for the Headmaster had decided to help him by leveling a spell at the Dark Lord to distract him from his prey and tear his focus away from the Cruciatus Curse he was administering.

The pair gazed at Naito with intense expressions before they both nodded to him and Disapprated away to help Dumbledore.

_Two more for the cause_, thought Naito satirically as he found the strength inside of him to get back on his feet and continue the fight.

Seeing that those who ambushed him had fled, Voldemort turned back to his quarry, ready to finish the Shadow Phoenix off.

Crimson red eyes of blood turned to liquid fire as they analyzed the damage already done to disable the Shadow Phoenix; thinking him to be sufficiently injured, Voldemort laid out an outline in his mind of how exactly he wanted to dispatch this particular nuisance.

Meanwhile, Naito was gathering what remaining energy he had left to ready himself for the remainder of the fight, which was why he was particularly grateful for the brief reprieve from torture.

"I have always planned to torture you to death since I first met you, but instead of getting it over with rather quickly, I believe I'll draw it out while you have no strength left and nowhere left to run."

Indeed, as soon as Tonks and Remus got away by Disapparating, the Death Eaters watching the fight had thrown up anti-Apparation jinxes.

_Hm_, thought Naito, _this is going to take some creative thinking on my part to get out of this mess—same as always I guess!_

_Better do it quickly_, the voice in the back of Naito's mind commanded silently, hurriedly.

Naito mentally nodded as his silver gaze focused on the Dark Lord's wand arm as it came up, the snake-like mouth parting to utter what could only be a painful curse.

Before the madman could get any further, Naito brought his own wand to bear, raising it above his head in one smooth, swift motion that exemplified the speed and agility he possessed. A bright light erupted from the tip of Naito's wand, blinding everyone in the vicinity momentarily, giving the young Slytherin time to prepare for a counterattack.

Muttering two quick incantations under his breath, Naito's form was safely tucked away under an invisibility spell while an illusion of the Shadow Phoenix replaced him a safe distance away.

Voldemort roared his anger to the sky as he muttered a spell to return his vision to normal and found his victim running for the edge of the anti-Apparation boundaries.

The evil wizard bellowed a freezing spell at the illusion to prevent it from going any further, but the spell seemed to miss. Voldemort shot twice more at the decoy before waving his wand in the air so that silver sparks rained down all around.

The mirage disappeared and the real Shadow Phoenix was revealed to be heading in the opposite direction.

Immediately Death Eaters began firing at Naito forcing him to duck and dodge, shielding himself with magic and rubble to prevent from being struck down by an Unforgivable.

Unable to avoid the mass of spells that was inundating his milieu, Naito transformed back into his black panther form and began attacking the nearest Death Eaters in earnest.

While a few of Voldemort's henchmen spared no qualms of hitting their own men, most of them did and tried to get close enough to Naito to curse him from point-blank range.

Knowing that he needed to get out of there quickly, Naito bit and clawed his way through the throng of minions back to the shadows.

The young Slytherin spy chuckled to himself at the irony of the situation. There were so many Death Eaters gathered in one place trying to get through each other to have a chance to curse him that they were attacking each other and had not even noticed he was no longer in the crowd.

As quickly as he could, Naito made his way past the anti-Apparation wards and Disapparated away to the Forbidden Forest.

Sure that everyone would be in the Hospital Wing with the Headmaster, Naito arrogantly assumed that his way back to his dormitory was clear and that he could finally take a nap and recover from the Cruciatus Curse...

He found out just how wrong he was when he opened the Great Hall doors and walked straight into his Head of House.

The man grabbed him by the cuff of his cloak and dragged him down to his office in the dungeons.

"Where have you been," the irate Potions Professor growled as soon as they were behind closed doors and silencing spells.

"I was just out taking a walk," Naito snapped back miffed.

"Oh, and did you just _happen_ to have the Cruciatus Curse put on you while you were walking along?" Snape spat saracastically.

"I...w-what!" Naito sputtered trying to appear innocent; he knew that his teacher was aware that neither the Dark Lord nor the Order had called him to help and would wonder why he had been missing from school grounds.

_He probably doubts my loyalty too, just like everyone else_, Naito thought surly.

"Your hands are shaking and your eyes are not dilating properly, both symptoms of the Cruciatus Curse being placed on you, now I reiterate, where have you been?"

Naito looked down at his hands and refused to say a word.

"I see. Well, why don't you let me tell you what I think you've been doing. I believe you've gone and gotten yourself an alternate ego named the Shadow Phoenix and are using it to terrorize the Death Eaters. Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed? Do you not know how important you are?"

_Oh, of course, he's talking about my spy position...if they lose me, they lose most of their inside information since I can sneak around and get information that others can't even get near. Well, at least I know why he's been pretending to be so nice to me all the time. He and everyone else just want to use me to reach their goals._

_It's not going to work though. I may help them take down Voldemort if I can, but my life is my own and I won't let them take me down with them, that's why I came up with the Shadow Phoenix in the first place: to help others and fight my own way._

"How did you manage to figure out who I am, you've never even seen the Shadow Phoenix?"

"I've heard the reports! I'm not as daft as you believe me to be boy! I can add the clues together to reach their sum. It's obvious that you've been hiding information from the Order, Remus and Tonks have been acting different ever since we sent you to rescue them, all of a sudden this new ally shows up and is always off fighting whenever you're gone."

Naito glared at the arm of the chair, thinking that if glares could literally burn a hole through someone then his chair would be cinders and ashes by now.

"All I really want to know is how you managed to obtain more than one Animagus form."

Naito started at that and looked up in surprise at his teacher who he found was gazing at him with a curious, not condemning, expression on his face.

"It's none of your business! Why do you want to know!"

"Because..." he paused a moment for a dramatically increased effect, "it has never been done before."

* * *

The courtyard was eerie—dark and silent—as Snape and Naito crossed the grounds of Voldemort's Headquarters and proceeded into the compounds.

The Dark Lord had called a surprised meeting; although it was not so surprising for those that had been involved with the fight earlier that morning. As a matter of fact, the Death Eaters that had been involved with that fiasco were probably already present and had come directly from the battlefield.

Snape had been summoned and been instructed to bring Naito along with him. Naito had certainly been thankful for the interruption; it would not do to reveal all of his secrets to the one man that could betray him to the worst (or best) of each side.

He would never reveal all of his talents and abilities to anyone; it was bad enough that Voldemort had found out about all of them while teaching him, but he had taught him how to utilize those abilities so the negatives were somewhat negated.

Naito was not really worried about this meeting so far. As far as Voldemort knew, he had not been in any way apart of the raid on the Muggle library and thus he had nothing to fear.

But his inner voice just would not stop antagonizing him—there was something wrong it told him.

_If you have nothing to worry about, then WHY were you summoned in the first place. Your mission is stationary, you're not needed to give your _usual_ report and your not here to be punished for the raid...so what is the importance of you being here for this meeting?_

It was a good question, but one that no matter what angle he looked at it from, he just could not figure out the answer to—something bad was going to happen.

Naito's musings were cut short when he realized he had entered the throne room.

Peering inside, Naito was relieved to see that Voldemort was not there yet, or was at least not revealing his presence to them at that present time, giving him the chance to look around at his fellow Death Eaters.

The ones already lined up in the front were the ones that had obviously been in the battle; some of them had torn robes, cuts on their bodies, or burns from spells. They were nervously shifting from foot to foot, anticipating the punishment they were to receive.

The others that had nothing to do with the raid, but had gotten there before Snape and Naito were standing calmly behind the others, their eyes alight with curiosity. Even though they were calm and serene (to a degree) at the moment, Naito knew that as soon as the Dark Lord stepped into the room they would be cowering in fear behind those in front.

Naito took his place beside Snape in the Inner Circle surrounding the ones in the front.

It was just a few moments before everyone arrived and Voldemort still had not appeared.

Many were beginning to whisper and conspire with their neighbors, discerning the manner of this tardiness when the shadows began to creep just a little higher up the walls.

No one but Naito noticed how the darkness was slowly but surely choking out all the light in the room. With the darkness encroaching, the candles flickered, dimmed, and died, causing all of the Death Eaters to suddenly go silent.

Then, without warning, all the candles suddenly flared back to life and the two lanterns on each side of the throne burst into a fiery blaze, drawing everyone's attention to the crimson eyed monster with a gaze of fire.

Several of the new recruits gasped as they gaped at the unexpected spectacle, while those around them with more experience fell to the ground in respect. Catching onto their mistake, those that had not already were kneeling before the Dark Lord at his mercy.

"Rise."

The Dark Lord's voice boomed like thunder and his eyes glowed with pitiless intensity at all of those gathered around him. It was then that Naito knew none in the room would be spared from Voldemort's fury.

"_Crucio_," with just one word, everyone fell back to their knees, screaming and writhing in the pain of the curse. When they were all finally allowed to stand, Naito looked up, only to see that instead of Voldemort's anger diminishing, it was mounting.

Once again they were all subject to the agony of the Cruciatus Curse before the Dark Lord was finally able to get past his rage enough to speak.

"Once again, you have all failed me! I have taught you myself and you cannot even contain a wizard twenty to one long enough for me to get to him! You still have not found the information on the Orb of Souls like I've commanded AND you cannot even set up the right wards to keep a DYING DUMBLEDORE FROM GETTING AWAY! _CRUCIO!_"

This time the curse was aimed just at those in the front row and Naito was very relieved he did not have to withstand that _crucio_. The weakest of that group passed out shortly after the spell was cast because of the strength of the curse; the others were unable to get back to their feet.

"This is the SECOND time that Shadow Phoenix has shown up and ruined my plans! As most of you are aware," Voldemort's voice was a low, dangerous hiss by this point, "we had managed to apprehend TWO of Dumbledore's followers. They were placed here in the dungeons because it is the most secure of all my headquarters and do you know what happened?"

They all did.

"THEY ESCAPED! ALL OF YOU LET THEM GET AWAY! _CRUCIO!_"

The curse was back on all of them again and hardest on those of the Inner Circle. Naito lay twitching and panting at the end of it just like all of the others, trying to regain his bearings enough just to know what had transpired a few moments before.

Dimly, a voice echoed inside his head.

"Someone altered my wards to admit anyone as long as they were with one of my followers! That means, that one of you in this room helped them to get away..." his voice trailed off as they all got back to their feet and Naito noticed the Dark Lord's eyes glance in his direction.

Naito's blood froze in his veins.

_Why didn't I think of that in the first place! Of course! Who _else_ would have the power needed to alter the wards on Voldemort's castle? Who else among the Death Eaters had an Animagus form! _

_Voldemort already knew that it was the Shadow Phoenix that helped Remus and Tonks escape and he saw me just today transform into a panther! He's put all the clues together! He knows! This is it! I'm going to die!_

Naito's thoughts jumbled together in his head and his breathing became erratic as panic set in.

_Why, oh why, did I ever think I could be a spy! If I'd only thought this far ahead this wouldn't be happening! I should have done something different with the wards, just blast them apart and fight my way through to the prisoners! Oh no, oh no, oh no..._

Snape elbowed Naito in the side when he saw the panic that was sweeping through the boy, ravaging him and taking from him coherent thought.

_There may still be a way out of this you stupid boy! It's not over yet!_ He mentally told him with Legilimency.

Naito closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steadying himself and preparing for the onslaught that he knew was about to come his way.

"Naito," the Dark Lord called.

The crowd around him parted and immediately he came forward, those piercing ruby eyes focused on him the whole time.

_Well, if this is my time to die, I might as well do it standing up and fighting him face to face._

"Yes, my Lord," he muttered just loud enough to be heard by Voldemort.

"What have you to report on the old, muggle-loving fool?"

_It's a test_, Naito realized. Voldemort was giving him one last chance to prove himself. He knows that Dumbledore's injured, has no idea of this meeting, and that if I were in league with him and having him filter my previous answers then there is no way he would be able to do it for me this time.

"He is grievously injured and will have to spend some time in the Hospital Wing, maybe even be sent to St. Mungo's, but those in the Order do not believe he will be safe there and will only send him if there is no other alternative."

_There, that doesn't give anything away. It's not what Voldemort's looking for, but the question could definitely be interpreted that way, maybe this will end up ok after all._

"You foolish child! As if I care about Dumbledore's heath condition. He escaped and thus will find a way to fight another day. What I want to know is what he has planned. You told me before he was interested in the Orb of Souls; what has he done to try and find it? Answer me!" he commanded when Naito hesitated.

"He's sent people on missions to find it, that's all I know!"

"Where you imbecile! Where!"

"Other countries, his former contacts, the Ministry, I don't know where all he's getting his information. For most of the major things, he just does them himself and won't tell anyone what he's planning!"

Voldemort was silent, mulling over what Naito had said.

"Hm...I do believe you are on to something, Naito. Yes indeed. Of course, with the attack they would have rebuilt it, put up more security, and moved some important items inside, thinking I was finished with the place. Yes, I bet that's just what they did."

He seemed to be talking more to himself at that point than anyone else in the room, but he suddenly turned to Naito and told him, "Thank you very much, my loyal servant. You have greatly pleased your Master. Now, return to the school and maintain your mission until I call for you."

Naito bowed and turned toward the exit...all eyes following him as he left. They were all wondering what insight Naito had given the Dark Lord and what their Master was going to do with this newfound epiphany.

Those parting words sent chills down Naito's spine. He did not know what it was that he had said, but hearing that Voldemort was pleased scared him more than when he thought he was facing his death—because when Voldemort was pleased, it usually meant something unpleasant was going to be occurring, not just to Naito, but to the entire wizarding community.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Wow, that took me forever to write! I'm sorry for taking so long guys, but schoolwork and writer's block just wouldn't let me work on this chapter to get it out to you! I hope you liked it and I know you are all anxious for the next chapter, since it's the one you've all been waiting and asking for from the very beginning.

**Coming Up: **_The Orb of Souls is discovered at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic and Naito must race to get there before Voldemort does to keep the Dark Lord from wielding its power. As usual for Naito, things do not go as planned when a memory triggered by his surroundings illuminates the veil shrouding Naito's past and breaks it down revealing the secrets hidden from him in Chapter 16: Unveiled Memories. _

_**Review Responses:**_

**crimson reality:** That's ok, I do that a bunch too.

**hotcocoalatte:** Thanks! I'm sorry I couldn't get this chapter to you quick enough...

**hprox4ever:** You'll just have to wait and find out...maybe. I hope you like this chapter as well!

**Joanna Potter:** Yup! I love that story! That's how I got the idea for the Shadow Phoenis...sorta. I hope you like this chapter.

**Jin:** That's NOT what I meant...lol. How's summer reading coming?

**Willow Evenstar:** Yeah, it's also funny or ironic, I think, how Naito keeps berating Gryffindors for their behavior when he acts just like them!

**Strawberrylover:** Thanks! I'm so glad you like this story! I hope you like this chapter as well!

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** I STILL haven't gotten around to checking my email yet...I really need to do that so I can start emailing you back and forth again...this senior year is going to KILL ME! ACK! (flinches as some random outer space planet explodes...)

**logi:** sorry it took me so long, but I'm glad you liked the chapter and I hope you like this one as well.

**firegirl505: **Thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

I'd like to thank **Jin Cheng** for beta reading for me! You do an awesome job **Jin Cheng**! I love you **Jin Cheng**!


	16. Unveiled Memories

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** Sep 4-16, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** I only just finished this chapter Friday night and wanted to get it out to you all right away before you decided to come after me with mallets so this chapter is unbetaed! Watch out!

* * *

**Chapter 16: Unveiled Memories

* * *

**

The Common Room was full of noise and a flurry of activity when all the students came back from their holidays. Naito was sitting on his bed talking to Draco as the Slytherin boy unpacked his things, trying to get done before going to bed.

"So how did your vacation go, Draco? Did you have fun?"

"Not really. It was pretty boring actually. I had to go with my mother to all of her stupid politic parties and sit there while they all talked about girl stuff."

Naito grimaced, knowing exactly how the blonde aristocrat felt, having been subject to several boring Death Eater meetings while he was still in training (these were when Voldemort had not been present).

"I did get a pretty good haul in this year, though."

Naito looked at Draco curiously.

"You know..." the way Draco was talking it was as if he were a toddler that needed something that should have been common sense explained to him.

Finally, Draco explained and Naito blushed in embarrassment as the boy said one word, "...presents? You usually get them every year at Christmas and your birthday?"

Naito gave the boy a scathing look as he said this and snapped, "Do you really think you get a lot of presents when the Dark Lord is raising you?"

Now it was Draco's turn to blush as he slumped, sitting on his bed as his tirade came to an abrupt halt.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't think of that."

"Obviously."

"I did find out something really exciting during break though!" Draco exclaimed breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them.

"What's that, Draco?"

"Apparently the Dark Lord's been looking for something recently because whatever it was, he sent my dad to look for it in the Ministry of Magic yesterday and he came back and told the Dark Lord it was there, hidden in the Department of Mysteries."

A familiar stirring of his conscious told Naito that there was a memory stored in the back of his head somewhere associated with that name, but more importantly he fingured out what inspiration he had given Voldemort at the Death Eater meeting.

By telling Voldemort that Dumbledore had been sending people to the Ministry of Magic, he had apparently figured out that the Orb of Souls was there.

So that explained the anxiety he had been feeling all day, each time accompanied by a twinge of pain in his forehead.

_That means he's going to attack tonight. He's not going to put much planning into this, unless he already has then. He'd rather make a lot of mistakes, but get to it before anyone knows he knows where it is and moves it than leave it while he plans and someone perhaps finds out that he knows. Clever._

_I need to get to it first, but I have classes and surely someone will notice if I'm not there; therefore, I'll just have to wait until classes are over. As soon as I'm done with all of that, I'll head over to the Ministry and try to get it before him...I bet the book with all the information on the Orb is right there with it too._

"Oh. That's interesting. Do you know when the Dark Lord is going to go after this mysterious object?" Naito asked, hoping he could figure out one way or another Voldemort's exact plans.

"Tonight. My father did not say what time precisely."

"Oh, so what all did you get for Christmas," Naito changed the subject, hoping it did not seem like he was fishing for information.

"The newest broom on the market, I'll let you ride it sometime—it's wicked fast, a bunch of books I wanted, a few rare artifacts..."

As Draco's list got longer and longer, Naito's imagination grew farther and farther away.

With classes not starting until the end of the weekend, Naito would not have to worry about not being back at the castle at any certain time as long as he returned before suspicions were aroused.

Other than that, Naito would need to find a way to get out and back into the castle without detection. No one, _absolutely NO ONE_, could know about what was going on, including Snape and Dumbledore.

He might have been helping the Order, but he was their ally, not their pawn—he would do what needed to be done and it was best if they knew nothing about what was going on. After all, someone cannot torture out of you information you do not have, right?

Naito's musings were interrupted by something, or _someone_ prodding his arm.

"Hey, Nate! Are you even listening to me?" Draco was beginning to get annoyed.

"Yes, sorry, Draco. I was just thinking about my parents. This is my first Christmas without my mum and dad you know...it's just kind of hard," Naito thought up a quick lie to cover his lapse of focus.

Draco said nothing to that, not knowing how to feel and just muttered a subdued, "I'm going to bed."

"Hm. Ok, me too, I think."

And with that, both boys got ready to sleep and laid down in their bed, one drifting off and the other waiting for the appropriate moment.

When Naito could hear nothing except the snores from his other companions in the room and the sounds of nighttime all around, he drew the covers back off his legs and got up, taking his time putting on his black pants and shirt, followed by his robe and mask.

He was going up against Voldemort again...after almost not escaping the last time.

Also, he was going into unfamiliar territory, unlike the Dark Lord, who he had heard of having some excursion with Harry Potter in the Department of Mysteries—so he had been told anyway.

He had heard many stories of Voldemort's fights against Harry Potter while learning about his mission and his targets. He needed to be familiar with his surroundings and those he targeted: Hermione and Ron.

They had been on many of those adventures with the orphaned Savior and Naito could only say good for him for fighting against Voldemort as he had.

_Well, it's time to go_, Naito told himself, trying to steel himself against his antagonists in the upcoming conflicts.

With everything ready, Naito transformed into a phoenix and flash apparated to the Ministry building.

If he was _really, really_ lucky, he might just make it early enough to get what he needed and slip out before Voldemort managed to come, but there was always Murphy's Law to consider.

_Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong._

He had to keep that in account.

Naito looked around at his surroundings and found himself in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic. It was completely empty, devoid of all life. The only thing moving was the water flowing from a newly erected fountain that had been made to look like two wands crossing a shield of arms with each tip of the wands emitting flowing strands of water into a wishing pool.

Naito had heard the story about the previous fountain as well...

Not really in the mood for dallying, the Shadow Phoenix strode up the hallway to the lift on the other side and stepped in.

None of the buttons on the lift had symbols or labels explained which floor was which department, but Naito had another vague tingling in the back of his mind that the button number he was looking for was nine.

He traveled in silence except for the ruckus of the grills on the lift, but all of that came to a halt as a woman's animated voice broke through the silence, saying, "Level nine, Department of Mysteries."

Walking out of the lift, Naito headed for a plain black door that was right beside the courtrooms.

_Wait a minute! How did I know that? I've never been here before...have I?_

Shaking his head in confusion, but deciding to let it go, Naito hurried across the threshold and was about to close the door when the vague tingling in the back of his mind increased into an incessant buzz that permeated his brain, telling him for some odd reason he should not shut the black door behind him.

Knowing that Voldemort would be alert and leaving the door open, would immediately alert him to the other person's presence as soon as he spied the door, Naito went against his better judgment and closed it anyway.

Suddenly, the room spun, making him dizzy as all of the doors in the room switched places...and there were a _lot_ of doors.

_Well, _that_ was good_, his mind told him.

_Shut up_, he retorted.

It was not like he knew which room the Orb was in anyways so it could not really hurt matters much.

Choosing a room, Naito opened the door to find a room full of clocks with beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light shining on every surface so that the clock faces gleamed with joy.

_Hm, obviously not that one...this must be the room where the Unspeakables study time..._

Then, in the back of Naito's mind the buzzing that had lingered ever since he had entered the Ministry began to grow louder, more recognizable as a vision or flashback that was just waiting on him to find enough clues that it could take shape.

"_Oh look!" said Ginny, pointing to an object that was vaguely reminiscent of the bell jar sitting in the middle of the room. At the very heart of the object, drifting in a sparkling current, was a tiny, jewel bright egg._

"_Keep going!" snapped a voice Naito could not recognize when Ginny showed signs of wanting to stop and watch the transformation happening within the bell jar._

"_You dawdled enough by that old arch!" she retorted crossly, but following anyway._

"_This is it," said the unknown voice again breathlessly, obviously dreading and longing to enter the room they had found, "It's through here—" it said hurriedly before the flashback faded into nothingness._

Naito shook himself of the vision, wondering what was going on. The flashbacks had been intense when he first started attending Hogwarts, but it was nowhere near as intense as the visions he had had upon arriving at the Ministry.

Why was that?

It almost seemed as if his past self had experienced some devastating trauma in a milieu like this one, while when he apparently had strange occurrences or disasters happen at Hogwarts (if that vague recollection of Hermione, Ron, and a troll was true), they were balanced out with good memories as well...

It could not be because he had spent more time at the Ministry than Hogwarts, had he? No, that just did not seem right...what was going on?

Remembering the task he had been set to, Naito ignored the vision and resumed his search for the Orb and the book that went with it.

Turning around and closing the door behind him, but not before making a distinct mark on the door so he would know where he came from, Naito proceeded to the next random door in a dozen or so to choose from.

When he opened this one, instead of a room full of clocks and light it was completely dark with floating planets suspended above the ground in a revolving orbit.

Naito frowned as, once again, his luck had deserted him in his choice of rooms. This was obviously not the right room.

Same as the other room though, this one came with an accompanying vision.

"_So which way d'you reck--?"_

_Before the unidentified voice could make a decision as to which way to try or even finish its sentence, a door sprang open beside them and three people fell out of it._

"_Ron!" croaked the unrecognizable person, dashing toward them. "Ginny—are you all--?"_

The next thing Ron said was muffled by the buzzing sound that reached a fevered pitch as if parts of Naito's mind were fighting each other for dominance. The vision was trying to get through, but apparently something was attempting to hold it back and keep it from reaching Naito's conscious mind.

It seemed to have no trouble revealing the next part of the vision as Ron continued on talking.

"_There you are...Ha ha ha...You look funny...You're all messed up..."_

_Ron's face was very white and something dark was trickling from the corner of his mouth. Next moment his knees gave way, pulling the unfamiliar person down with him into a bow._

"_Ginny?" asked the voice fearfully. "What happened?"_

_Ginny only shook her head in reply and slid down the wall into a sitting position, panting and holding her ankle._

"_I think her ankle's broken, I heard something crack," whispered Luna._

"_Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets, it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark—"_

Naito collapsed against the doorway as this vision ended.

_I'm going insane with these visions! I just wish I knew what was going ON!_

Tired of wasting time, Naito turned to another door, after marking the other and having the room make him dizzy once more.

Wrenching the next door open, Naito noticed that like the room before, this one was dark, but unlike its neighbor, it gave off an eerie sort of feeling.

It reminded Naito of Volemort's victims that were brought to his headquarters. After several days of nothing except torture, suffering, belittlement, and starvation, when they finally were let go, there was always a feeling of sorrow in the air.

It was almost as if they had not been meant to die the way they had, unprepared perhaps, but they took with them all that pain and suffering with them beyond the grave and it permeated the air with the feeling of...incompleteness.

There were no words to describe it, this feeling of death after immense suffering, but Naito knew it well, it was the sort of death he had always pictured for himself while serving under Voldemort with no hope of a future.

So when he opened the door, immediately recognized the feeling for what it was; it was the feeling of a darkness deeper than the blackest night, the darkness of death.

Whispered voices seemed to call out to Naito, pleading, begging for help.

And Naito was drawn to those voices...had he not promised to always help those that needed him?

_Yes, but only those that were innocent among the living!_ Naito's mind cried out to him, revealing the lure for what it was...a trap.

Quickly, Naito slammed the door against the voices, blocking them out, thankfully this time there was no complementary flashback to go with the room, although the internal battle in his mind had become extremely fierce giving Naito an intense headache, making him more miffed than usual.

Finally, fed up with everything and the strange voices that echoed with shadows from Naito's own mind deeply unsettling him, making him even more irritable so that he yelled out, "Where is the blasted door that leads to the room with the orb!"

Amazingly enough, it worked as a door behind him opened up revealing another brightly lit room with only a table in the middle surrounded by desks.

_Finally, now that I've wasted enough time..._

Naito approached the room at a brisk pace, wanting to get the Orb and the book back to Hogwarts where he knew it would finally be safe.

It was not until that moment that he realized just how much time he had wasted.

He had just picked up the book on the Orb and stuffed it into a secret pocket within his robe when he heard voices coming from the "spinning room."

_Great! I just _love_ company!_ Naito thought sarcastically as he bound over to the table and collected the clear, glass sphere the size of a grapefruit that seemed to be filled with white, wisps of smoke, oddly reminding him of a crystal ball.

In his haste to grab the globe, Naito knocked over the small glass stand the Orb had been perching on, making it fall to the floor and shatter with a loud crashing noise.

The voices outside hushed and went silent, alerting Naito that they had heard.

_CRAP!_ He thought, running back out to the switching doors room, closing the door behind him so that it spun once more while trying to stuff the ball into one of his enlarged pockets.

Before the Death Eaters outside could come in, Naito dove into a room at random, hoping Lucius would lead them directly to the Orb room and not have to go searching through rooms arbitrarily like he had.

Looking around for something to hide behind, Naito noticed that there were many more doors in this room, making him wonder just how big the Department of Mysteries really was.

Naito walked over and crouched behind a giant tank full of brains when he heard Lucius' voice out in the corridor giving instructions.

"Now, when we get the Orb, we're to give it directly to the Dark Lord, he'll be waiting for us in the lobby when our job is through. We're also supposed to see if the book is here; it's supposed to have information on the Orb."

_Great! Voldemort's back at the entrance! Now how am I supposed to get out? No other choice except to fight, I guess._

There was no time left as Malfoy ordered a curt, "Follow me in," before Naito could hear them all entering the room he had just vacated.

There was a moments silence as the Death Eaters surveyed the scene around them then they were all yelling at once, creating a ruckus.

Naito thought it would be a good time to try to sneak by and hide in some other part of the Ministry, but his plans were never put into motion as Malfoy bellowed through the cacophony, quieting it.

"QUIET!" he shouted and everything became still once more.

"Now, we're going to split up into pairs, every one take a different room; we'll find whoever did this and they will pay. Show them no mercy then bring him to the Dark Lord. Go!"

All along the corridor doors were being opened and the rooms searched. Naito knew he needed to leave and the only ways left to him were the doors inside the room he was in. Taking a chance, he jumped into one just as Death Eaters opened the door to the room he was hiding in.

"Hey! We've found—"

The two that had come in found themselves cut off as Naito silenced them with a spell, but it had been enough to alert others to go that direction.

_And here we go again..._

The stunner fired at his back was blocked by the door as Naito closed the door behind him, causing it to splinter and blast apart.

Not even paying attention to his surroundings, Naito flew down the stairs in front of him, turning back every few seconds to fire spells at those pursuing him.

So caught up in his fight with those behind him, Naito never even noticed he was descending down into the room that he had gotten the eerie feeling from before.

Thus, when he fully entered the room and beheld the magnificent arch with its flowing veil he stopped running completely, his breath, coming in gasps from running and muttering incessant incantations, hitched, lodging in his throat.

His glistening silver eyes, usually shining like the pale light of the full moon, ceased glowing altogether as the life in them drained away. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and his heart skipped a beat as he stared at the veil sitting innocently in front of him, the hems of it swaying silently as if blown by an unfelt breeze.

Luckily, distant sounds of the Death Eaters were heard on the stairs, having stopped momentarily to untangle themselves from where they had tripped over each other from some spell Naito had shot at them.

While Naito stood immobile, staring at the veil, his mind was a whirling blur of motion as the buzzing noise that had been ravaging his brain all night fought against an unseen force.

The buzzing grew extremely fierce and pushed against the wall holding it back, finally forcing it back and back until it snapped completely and broke, releasing everything that it had been trying to keep hidden for so long...the memories of Naito's past.

_Colors and sounds merged and blended together, making everything Naito was seeing in his own mind a complete blur of motion so that he was unable to put it all together._

_Memories of past experiences rushed to the forefront of Naito's mind, jumbling and tumbling over each other, each trying to make their presence known, but the one memory that stood out the most was the one Naito wished was most suppressed._

_Only one couple were still battling, apparently unaware of the newly arrived Dumbledore to the Death Chamber in the Department of Mysteries._

_Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her, "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room._

_The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest._

_The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock._

_Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore turned to the dais too._

_It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arch..._

_And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place._

_Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing—Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second..._

_But Sirius did not reappear._

"_SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, "SIRIUS!"_

_He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out again..._

_But as he reached the ground and sprinted toward the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back._

"_There's nothing you can do, Harry—"_

"_Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"_

"_It's too late, Harry—"_

"_We can still reach him—"_

_Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go..._

"_There's nothing you can do, Harry...nothing...He's gone."_

Suddenly, it all returned to him...the Dursley's, Hogwarts with the stone, Chamber of Secrets, meeting Sirius and Lupin for the first time, the resurrection, the Department of Mysteries incident, and finally being poisoned by his relatives.

Awakening from his stupor, Naito Kuroi Koori remembered every detail of his past and knew he was really the supposedly dead Harry James Potter.

Harry gasped, inhaling air after not breathing several minutes and ended up coughing to expel the stale air that had been stuck inside his lungs as he viewed his memories.

So that was what the Sorting Hat had meant when it said that he would have to _unveil_ his own memories. It had been a foreshadowing of him seeing the veil and his memories being returned to him.

The clues had been there all along! People comparing him, especially Dumbledore, to Harry Potter and even the fact that while he had been in Slytherin, he had acted just like a Gryffindor.

Now that he knew who he really was, should he reveal himself to his friends? Would they even want him back once they learned that he had ultimately become Voldemort's weapon and spy?

Shouts of incantations reached Harry's ears as the Death Eaters finally managed to unravel themselves and rush down the stairs in a stampede, startling Harry from his pensive thoughts.

One incantation in particular caught his attention as the Orb he had worked so hard to attain soared out of his pocket and into Lucius Malfoy's greedy, open palm: _Accio Orb of Souls_.

"NO!" Harry shouted, reaching for it and missing as it sailed past his outstretched arm.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here! The Shadow Phoenix again? We just keep running into each other don't we?"

Not even bothering to retort, Harry tried to summon the Orb back to his hand.

"Uh uh uh! I expected you to try that and put up an anti-summoning ward around my hand after I caught the pretty, little bauble. Smart of me, don't you think?"

Harry growled, his eyes narrowed to slits and his cheeks flushed in anger.

"There are other ways to get it back, Malfoy!" Harry sneered quietly, but fiercely.

"Not if I don't want you to," said a voice from behind him.

Harry spun around, knowing exactly who he would find to his back; how could he not with that distinct, scaly voice with an undercurrent of rage and smug inflection of emotion.

"Voldemort."

"Correct, Shadow Phoenix."

"I should have known you would slither your way to the upper floors. After all, it's obvious you don't trust your pathetic lackeys to handle your dirty work. I know for a fact one of them could be easily done in by pest control."

Lucius Malfoy shot him a death look.

"I'm afraid that's no way to talk to the greatest wizard in the world."

"You're not," Harry spat with a sneer, just like he had done as a second year student at Hogwarts in the Chamber of Secrets against the memory of Tom Riddle.

"Not what?" replied Voldemort lazily as Malfoy slinked over to his side, handing over the glowing Orb that had become a mass of churning, angry smoke.

"The greatest wizard in the world," stated Harry simply in a condescending tone as if speaking to an infant. "Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore."

Red eyes flashed in recognition of the words, but disbelief was clearly etched into the Dark Lord's features. It could not be possible, could it? Harry Potter was now Naito Koori and was working as his spy at Hogwarts.

He could not possibly be the Shadow Phoenix; but then, how did he know so much about the Death Eaters and always know where Voldemort was planning to show up next? No, the boy was firmly under his control; there was no way it could be Naito—it was a coincidence and nothing more.

"Really, well if your wonderful Dumbledore is so powerful and mighty and not the doddering, old fool he appears to be, where is he? Why has he not stopped me before now?"

Almost as if drawn by those words, a horde of wizards rushed into the room, wands waving, spell lights flashing, and Death Eaters falling to the floor under the onslaught.

Voldemort turned to look at the approaching wizards and noticed the one at the forefront wearing magnificent robes of pale blue with bright yellow suns, moons, and stars stitched on.

"Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed before turning back to the Shadow Phoenix, who was standing with his wand out, ready to face any threat that came his way and win.

"Enough of the political games, the 'peaceful negotiations' have drawn to a close. It is time for me to take what I want. You can either hand over the book on the Orb of Souls or I can simply take it from you. Please choose the latter, I would much rather torture you and watch you suffer!"

It was then that Harry realized just how in over his head he was. Voldemort had the Orb and the only thing that stood in the way of the present dark lord using it was Harry. He had the book and Voldemort wanted it.

He could either escape now with the book and not go after the Orb, or he could try to get the Orb back and chance loosing the book.

Once he really thought about it, Harry thought he would much rather let Voldemort have the Orb and no clue how to work it than to have the book and be able to work it from a distance.

Deciding to cut his loses, Harry decided to take the book and run back to Hogwarts where Voldemort could not get it.

Unfortunately, his adversary must have sensed his intention because in the next moment, he attempted to summon the book to him like Lucius Malfoy had done with the Orb.

Harry snorted and scoffed, "You don't really think I wouldn't put anti-summoning spells on my person after Malfoy got the Orb from me that way and said he had done the same thing to himself, did you?"

Voldemort sneered, "Nevertheless, it won't help you, boy. I'll get it from you one way or the other."

"I don't think so, Tom."

Dumbledore, having dispensed with most of the Death Eaters, the rest being taken care of by the Order, had finally joined the showdown.

"Be careful, he has the Orb, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded his head to Harry, showing his acknowledgement, but not really looking at him.

It reminded Harry of the summer before and the school year during his fifth year where Dumbledore had not looked at him once and would hardly talk to him at all.

It also called forth the memories of the prophecy, making him wonder what the power was that the Dark Lord knew not.

Harry's musings were interrupted by the exchange of spells between Voldemort and Dumbledore.

It did not last long; Voldemort was clearly outnumbered and being evenly or slightly more powerful than Dumbledore and all of his followers were currently tied up or losing to an Order member spectacularly.

Deciding to leave while he still had possession of the Orb of Souls, Voldemort fled, signaling to those Death Eaters that were not already captured that it was time portkey away to Headquarters.

"I told you Dumbledore was the greatest wizard in the world, not you," Harry muttered after the running dark lord.

The Headmaster asked him what he had said, but Harry saw the twinkle in his eye that told him he already knew.

"Nothing. How did you know to come here?"

"One of my sources alerted me to the fact that Voldemort was going to come after the Orb of Souls that resided in the Department of Mysteries. How did you know?"

"Same way."

Harry smirked at his own insolent behavior, which the Professor only chuckled at.

"Well, I thank you all the same for detaining him as you did."

"There is no reason to thank me, Professor," said Harry gravely. "He still managed to get away with the Orb."

"Yes, but he does not know how it works, does it. The situation is not as grave as you seem to fear. Your worries are unwarranted for the time being."

Harry snorted again.

"If you believe that then you are going to find yourself in serious trouble, Professor. Do not underestimate Voldemort. He will try his own experiments and attempt to find out the magic that make the Orb function and I have no doubt that with enough time, he will find just that."

"It that you are correct, but I believe we still have some time before that will happen."

"Now, you have aided me and my companions many times during the past several weeks and even saved my life during our last encounter, which I thank you most proficiently for by the way, but yet, I still do not know your name."

Harry sighed.

That was a tricky question for him now too.

For the past year and a half, he had been Naito Koori. Voldemort's most prized spy and protégé with no memory of his past.

No, that was not right. Even that had changed during the past several months at Hogwarts. He had been shifting back and regaining memories from his past ever since he had reentered the familiar surroundings of the castle.

Now, he had regained the memories he had so longed to find, only to wish he might never have uncovered them and once again release the horrors of his childhood.

He was Harry Potter. He was Naito Koori. He was the Shadow Phoenix.

He did not know who he was...

"Neither do I, Professor. Neither do I..."

With that last, vague comment, Harry turned around and left.

He was still pondering the answer to the question when he got back to the Slytherin Common Room and his dormitory. Still wondering as he sat down on his bed and removed his Shadow Phoenix garb and stowed it in his trunk. Still contemplating the enigma as he sat behind his curtains holding the book to the Orb of Souls in his hands, turning it over and over, hoping to find the answers he sought.

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N- **Well, that's that. Naito/Harry has his memories back and has the book on the Orb of Souls. Now we just have to wait and see if anyone else figures out who Naito/Harry is and wonder what Voldemort is going to do w/the Orb of Souls now that he has it in his possession. Hopefully he won't figure out how to work it too soon.

**Coming Up: **_We find out what all the Orb of Souls does as Naito reads the data documented by the creator in his book and see more of his confusion about his present identity now that he's both Naito Koori and Harry Potter when he runs into the Gryffindor Trio. Of course, there's a Death Eater meeting just for Naito and another attack for Voldemort to vent just to keep things interesting in Chapter 17: Fool Me Once._

_**Review Responses:**_

**Strawberrylover: **I'm glad you were able to feel the excitement of the chapter! That makes me super happy! YAY!

**Joanna Potter:** Apparently, you aren't the only one! I'm glad you liked it enough that you were actually getting into the story!

**starfan1: **I hope you get caught up! I'm glad you like my story!

**Nicky:** Of course it was action packed! It's me you're talking about! You know, the one w/all the ideas and will never share them? (I've got an idea, but I can't tell you about it. Lol!) Did this chapter sate your need for action/adventure as well?

**Thee-Unknown-Factor:** You sound just like one of my best friends...she said that when I went to school the next day too. Lol! But the suspense in between waiting for chapters is what keeps it interesting! Wouldn't you agree?

**Nippledora Tweaks:** I try to budget my time, but school and life don't want to let me, especially since I'm starting to look for colleges! Eek! Well, I hope you liked this chapter as much as the rest of the story!

**hprox4ever:** Yeah, lots of ppl give Dumbledore a hard time about how he treats Harry (and I like those stories too) but I really do think he wants to keep Harry safe and happy. Well, now you know what happens! How did you like it!

**Professor Moony S. Padfoot:** (gasp) where do you live? Good luck w/getting your power back and everything! I hope this chapter was up to standard for you! (except that it's not betaed)

**Anave Lipad:** Yeah, I like reading the cliché stories too, but all the good ones never seem to get updated except maybe once a year if you're lucky...I'm glad you found and like my story and I hope you keep reviewing!

**Sarah R. Potter:** Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it!

**MagicmanSmokegirl:** Yup, I almost ended up with 3 tests on Friday and I only have 3 CLASSES! Luckily all but one got rescheduled. Yeah, I'm having fun giving Voldemort a hard time! He always does it to Harry in the books so now I'm letting him have some of it back...it really is his own fault for trying to turn our favorite hero dark!

**Willow Evenstar:** Sure! I'll listen if you want to rant about school! I've got a ton of my own, but I usually rant those to my friends at school so they can share in the ranty goodness...Yay! I've been trying to make Moldywarts really mean, but I can't tell how well its coming across! Here's your update!


	17. Fool Me Once

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** Sep 19-Nov 13, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** I'm sorry for the long delay guys, but I'm sure all of you know that life is not predictable except in its unpredictability. Therefore, I would hope that you would not flame me for having to just flow with what life has thrown at me these past weeks.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Fool Me Once

* * *

**

_The Orb of Souls is an artifact I had the inspiration to create after an autodidactic study on Soul Magic. I always found it fascinating in my study that Soul Magic was the most powerful kind of magic because of its connection to emotions._

_It has been observed of young magical children that when they become extremely distressed, their emotions often trigger their magic to do things that not even some trained adult wizards are capable of because it is magic in its rawest form. _

_This occurrence is most commonly found only to be associated with children; however, it has been noted that some teenagers and adults experiencing fluxes in their magic will occasionally have magical "slips" in their control._

_Since this is pure magic, undiluted and unfiltered, I have decided to create this Orb to capture the souls of others to increase the power of magic. This book will take you through each step and process to control my greatest work other than my creation of the Dementors—creatures I made based off the principle of increasing magical power by the use of soul magic._

_Thus, my two creations complement each other and can often trigger special effects that could not be otherwise produced in one without the other. The first chapter is an intimate description of the Orb of Souls and Dementors and the parts of each, with labeled sketches as an aide._

_The second and third chapters detail just what powers the Orb of Souls has and how to work it, with some shortcuts on complex procedures and advice to achieve maximum results. These are also the chapters that include how to increase your own power, using the Orb of Souls as a focusing tool by honing the powers of captured souls._

_The fourth and fifth chapters detail how the Orb of Souls works/controls Dementors and the operations involved in bending the Dementors to your will._

After reading the introduction, Harry was eager to begin reading the book and figure out how to work the Orb of Souls. If it was able to capture souls, then there might just be a way for him to "vanquish" Voldemort for good.

Along with all the other memories of his past, the memories of Harry's life also brought back with them, the knowledge of the prophecy. Harry knew he needed to do something to get rid of Voldemort and now he had a reason for why he had turned against the Dark Lord that took him in even when he was Naito—it was his destiny.

He had wondered all that time, what it was that had warned him away from completely trusting or believing everything the Dark Lord said, something that made him dislike the snake-man even thought he never could figure out what.

Now he knew.

He was Harry Potter, The Chosen One, The Prophecy Child, The Boy-Who-Lived, everyone's hope, light, and most importantly Savior.

Of course that was not to mention all the other titles that came along with the bad press, Harry was the world's scapegoat—their person to blame whenever something was going wrong.

Harry shook his head in wonder...He could not discern if Harry Potter or Naito Koori had the better life. Neither one of them had a _good_ life; it just went to show that no matter whether he had a different name nor and different face, Harry would _always_ attract the wrong sort of attention.

Yes, Murphy's Law was indeed trying to screw him over.

Why could he not just be normal for once! Why did everything _have_ to happen to _him_!

_You know why._

Great, the voice was back...why did even his own thoughts have to torment him?

_It's because before you were even born an old Divination fraud had to open her trap and spew a bunch of nonsense about some child defeating a man in every way his senior._

Except that by the time Harry finished reading the book on the Orb of Souls, Harry would know how to work it...not Voldemort.

That thought spurred him into action and he began to read the beginning chapters.

The reading was extremely interesting in his opinion, especially when he found out that not only could he control Dementors with the Orb of Souls, but if the host was still alive, return the lost souls they had gathered back to their owners.

There were also ways to protect yourself or others from an attack if the orb fell into enemy hands, you could block someone else's drain against yourself or your allies.

(This, Naito found, was to be one of the most helpful things in the book.)

There were so many possibilities it was no wonder Voldemort wanted the orb so badly.

Harry kept reading until classes began, even skipping breakfast to read more, but taking the book with him to all his classes and pulling it out every time he had a spare moment, which was fairly often as he already knew everything his professors were teaching from Voldemort's training.

He had disguised the book to look like a N.E.W.T. study guide book and no one had pestered him about it.

One of the major questions that kept popping up in his mind, however, was whether or not he should tell Dumbledore or any of his friends that Harry Potter was alive. As long as he did not tell them who he was then it should not be too much of a problem.

But when he began applying logic to the problem, it was starting to look better and better that he did not even tell anyone he was still alive. What would happen if they knew?

The answer to that was obvious; they would not stop looking for him until they found him and word would get back to Voldemort somehow that the Order knew he was alive; he would be pulled out of Hogwarts and back into Headquarters and then Voldemort would know that he knew about the Orb and had the book.

It was not until the end of the day that Harry actually put the book down and talked to somebody.

He had been eating dinner in the Great Hall, the disguised book propped up on his lap when Draco came and sat down beside him.

"Hey, Nate," the blonde said as he sat down and began loading his plate.

"Hey, Draco," Harry replied, obviously distracted.

Malfoy did not let this deter him, however, and kept pounding him with questions about his day, trying to start a conversation.

Most of Harry's answers were short and curt, but he finally had to give up his reading when it became apparent Draco would just continue to ignore his annoyed behavior until he could finally get Naito to start talking.

It was then that Harry noticed how different Malfoy seemed to him now that he had gotten to know the boy from the Slytherin side.

_Is this how things could have ended up if I had shaken his hand on the train and let the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin? Could I have ended up being Draco Malfoy's friend?_

It appeared so and Harry was amazed to discover that underneath the cold, hard exterior, inside, Malfoy was just as human as anyone else.

"Guess what I heard," Draco said, his eyes focused and intense as he stared at the boy he thought was Naito Koori.

"What?"

"I heard that the Dark Lord found the Orb of Souls last night! My dad sent me an owl this morning. I would have told you sooner, but you've had your nose buried in that book all day and I've just now got you out of it."

"Hm...That's all well and good that he has it, but it won't do him any good if he doesn't know how to work it. I thought there was some weird book that went with it. Did he get that too?"

"No, apparently that Shadow Phoenix guy got there before he did and got the book and the orb, but the Dark Lord and my dad managed to get the orb from him before he took off with the book. My dad gave me a task: I have to keep a look out for anyone that might have that book somewhere or someone that knows too much about the Orb of Souls."

Harry thought that a rather ironic comment as the one he was talking about was sitting right beside him and he apparently did not know it. The clues were all right in front of him.

Naito had been extremely interested in the Orb of Souls as far as Draco knew, had found out about the attack last night from Draco himself, was seen reading a book all day long just as the Orb of Souls book "happened" to go missing, and here he was asking educated questions based on his previous knowledge of the orb, and yet, Draco still had not caught on.

_It must be the fact that I'm Voldemort's top spy as far as Draco knows and thus inevitable that I would want to know what is going on with my "master."_

Harry shook his head at Malfoy's naiveté and asked, "So if he doesn't have the book on how to work the orb, how is he going to use it?"

"Oh, he found the spell to trap souls in it somewhere when he was researching the Orb of Souls itself," Draco flippantly replied.

"Oh really? How does he know it works? Has he tested it yet?"

"No. He's going to do that tonight. My father told me he's going to find some random Muggle village to test it out, and if it works he's going to draw out Dumbledore's Bird Brigade and use it on them. Who knows, he might even be able to get that Shadow Phoenix guy..."

Yup, that blocking spell was definitely going to come in handy tonight.

* * *

Night had descended upon the castle as Harry slunk through the hallways. After dinner with Draco, Harry had spent the rest of the night in the Room of Requirement practicing the shielding charm described in the Orb of Souls book until he thought he had it down. With nothing substantial to practice with, however, he had no idea how effective his shield really was.

Harry's musings were interrupted when he heard voices whispering the corridor coming towards him. Swiftly and silently he folded himself into the shadows, not wanting to get caught by whoever was wandering around the dark castle at night.

Listening to what the voices were saying, he recognized Ron and Hermione—his former best friends who both thought he was dead.

Harry felt a fresh rush of anger course through him at Voldemort; his best friends should not have had to mourn him for a year before they could get on with their lives. He should not have to be sneaking through the hallways at night to go fight against Voldemort's army and new super-weapon.

Instead, he should have been walking through the hallways with his best friends, discussing Quidditch maneuvers with Ron, S.P.E.W. with Hermione, and what they were going to eat once they made it to the kitchens for a midnight snack.

It was just one more thing Harry could account to Voldemort, one more thing that had been taken away from him, and on more reason to get rid of the tyrant that had destroyed his life.

Voldemort had fooled him through his dreams, leading to the death of Sirius, he had fooled him with his broken memory and he had lost everything he had ever known, but he would not be fooled anymore.

He had been on the defensive ever since he had learned Voldemort was after him, but now it was time to go on the offensive, keep him second guessing himself and finally beat him at his own game, use his own mind tricks against him.

_Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me._

Harry pondered the phrase to himself as with one last glance at his friends retreating backs, he took off again, heading out the front doors and disappearing into the night.

* * *

Finally, things were turning in his favor; the Shadow Phoenix might have gotten the book, but he had the Orb of Souls itself, and even a spell to work it (although, whether the spell would be effective or not was still to be determined).

Now, all he needed to implement his machinations was to give the signal. If everything went according to plan, he would know how close his charm was to activating the Orb of Souls, there would be fewer Muggles to contaminate Britain, and maybe even some of Dumbledore's Order member's souls captured. Or, even better, Dumbledore himself and that pesky Shadow Phoenix.

Stretching his senses, Voldemort checked that his small army of new recruits and Inner Circle Death Eaters were in place before hissing a quick "_Morsmorde_," shooting the Dark Mark into the air, the magnificent emerald skull and snake shinning down on the small muggle town.

The cursed green light was a foreshadowing testament to the numerous Avada Kedavra's that would be uttered that night. It was a forewarning of the death and destruction that would sweep through the village, overtaking all opposition and bearing victory in its wake.

Like a plague of vultures swarming an unsuspecting target, the Death Eaters surged forward, bursting into homes where lights turned on, and people began screaming, and with a flash of brilliant emerald were silenced.

Deciding that the midst of the chaos was a perfect time to bring the evening to a climax, Voldemort strode forward and began a long, Latin chant. The Orb he drew from his pocket was illuminated from within upon receiving the charging magic of the words and started to pulse with an eerie light before searching out through the darkness and striking someone.

All the noise seemed to be drowned out and dulled as a sound like the rushing of wind swept through the area. White particles of light were being drawn from the body and concentrated into the form of the person as it swirled through the air.

Finally, when every last particle of light had escaped from the body, it fell with a soft "whumph" as the light cut through the air like a whip, until it was drawn into the Orb which glowed faintly before it resumed its original status.

Pleased with the success of the proceedings, Voldemort started again, picking out his next target.

Same as before, the Orb brightened briefly before striking out in search of the intended target.

Unlike last time, however, the illumination encountered an obstacle in the form of a barrier.

Voldemort stepped back, his surprise evident on his countenance as he looked around, searching for the source of the disturbance.

Oddly, nothing seemed amiss—his Death Eaters were on rampage, Muggles were running and screaming, and chaos had ensued, but the Orb of Souls had stopped working.

Why had that happened?

Either there had been a glitch or...someone had deliberately sabotaged his spell.

A memory flashed into existence of the Shadow Phoenix holding the Orb of Souls book and Dumbledore's group arriving, coercing his forces to retreat.

Whipping around, Voldemort had just enough time to dodge out of the way before a jet of icy blue light flew past, hitting the pavement behind him.

Looking up in the trees encompassing the village, Voldemort spotted what he was looking for in the form of a darkened shape, shrouded in shadow—the Shadow Phoenix had arrived.

* * *

It had been fun, Harry thought, to see the look of surprise upon Voldemort's face as he had blocked his spell. It would have been even better had he been able to curse the self-appointed Dark Lord while his back was turned even more.

Unfortunately for him, Voldemort's powers of deduction had kicked in and the slimy serpent had managed to get away just in time, with the full capability to curse back.

The green light of the Killing Curse advanced on Harry's location in the tree he had been hiding in and the young wizard was forced to spring into the air, catapulting over the Dark Lord's head with a back flip and landing with the liquid grace of his Animagus feline form in a crouched position in front of the menacing maniac.

Instantly a sparring match ensued as the Dark Lord Voldemort and his mortal enemy Harry Potter The-Boy-Who-Lived in the attire of the Shadow Phoenix faced off once again.

The two combatants circled each other warily, occasionally tossing spells back and forth, probing for a weakness in the other that they could use to their advantage.

Suddenly, both duelers exploded in a flurry of movement that had those around them scrabbling back away to keep from getting hit by the barrage of spells that were flying in all directions.

Soon there was enough space cleared out for the Shadow Phoenix and Voldemort to duel "comfortably" and pull off some more of their more impressive tricks.

Harry shot off a quick procession of bludgeoning spells in a row and Apparated behind Voldemort to hit him with a ball of fire.

In a display of power, the Dark Lord blocked all of the bludgeoning spells with a single shield that held up under all the attacks and Apparated away from the ball of fire, deciding to take a leaf out of Harry's book.

Voldemort reappeared on Harry's left side and threw a bone-breaking curse at Harry's arm, which was dodged and counteracted by an unknown spell with orange light that sailed harmlessly by as Voldemort brushed it away.

Civilians and Death Eaters looked on in awe as the two enemies flitted around each other in a mad dance of life and death.

It was not long before the disturbance of such a large magical discharge was noted by the Ministry of Magic and Aurors were sent to investigate...those among them consisting of Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks who immediately alerted the Order of the Phoenix.

While Harry noticed, he had no thought to spare for all the people that were arriving at the scene, his mind was entirely ensconced on trying to parry the Dark Lord's attacks and get in a few hits of his own.

Coming up with a strategy to win was becoming increasingly difficult as more and more people Apparated in to handle the situation. With so many people scrambling around, Harry was hard pressed to concentrate solely on his own objective and not be distracted by the chaos of spells and people around him.

Not only that, but he could no longer shoot lethal spells at Voldemort for fear of hitting an innocent; Voldemort, however, had no such qualms and frequently sent Killing Curses, Cruciatus Curses, and others in his direction, not caring whether the spell hit Harry, an innocent, or even one of his own Death Eaters.

Several times, the Dark Lord had tried to use the Orb of Souls on innocents while Harry was distracted. This caused even more of a disturbance when he had to conjure a shield to block it, giving Voldemort time to score several hits on his person, namely several Cutting Hexes.

Harry could feel blood flowing out of his body, sapping his strength and causing his body to stiffen and no longer obey his commands as it tried to protect itself from suffering blood loss.

Every move Harry made was now filled with the agony of the numerous cuts Voldemort's spells had made. It was for this reason that Harry's motions began to slow and become less lithe and graceful and more sharp and jerky as he attempted to escape the Dark Lord's wrath.

Thus, when a particularly fast Petrifying Spell was aimed in his direction, he was unable to get out of the way properly and fell to the ground, all of his limbs bound to his sides by the magic that held them in place.

Everyone around the couple gasped at the sight of the new hero being felled so easily and they all watched astounded at what was happening before their eyes.

Voldemort, smug in his victory, advanced on the fallen Shadow Phoenix, his mouth curled into a smirk of malicious glee as he said loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear, "Now we shall see who the real man behind the mask is and everyone will know I will wipe out every opposition that comes my way by your example."

Knowing that he needed a proper distraction in order to get out of the mess he found himself in this time, Harry frantically searched his memory banks for a spell or anything that could save him.

Luckily, he knew just one such distraction...the Dementors.

Through the Orb of Souls that Voldemort still retained on his person, Harry could summon the Dementors through a highly simplistic spell and order them to do his bidding. If he wished for only the Death Eaters and Voldemort to be persecuted then it would be done and none of the innocents would be harmed.

Through clenched teeth, tightly closed lips, and an unresponsive tongue, somehow, Harry managed to force out the incantation to summon the ultimate soul sucking creatures. With only an anti-climatic, faintly glowing Orb of Souls everything returned to silence as the crowd around Voldemort and Harry grew even bigger.

The pale, deranged man crouched down beside the still body of the mysterious Shadow Phoenix and reached out an inhuman, long-fingered hand and removed the mask that was shielding Harry's face from the people.

As the crowd collectively inhaled sharply, Harry silently chuckled at their reactions. In front of them was a nondescript featured face with intense, moon-beam colored eyes and a head of ebony colored hair. It was the face of someone that could have been seen almost a hundred times in a day because it was a collection of the most common features.

_I wonder what their expressions would be now if I hadn't used my Metamorphmagus abilities to disguise myself,_ Harry thought wryly as his gazed passed between one curious face to the next.

Voldemort's countenance was by far the best of the lot as he curiously gazed down at Harry with the most peculiar expression Harry had ever seen. He almost looked as if Harry were someone he knew, but could not quite place the features of.

As Voldemort stood up, preparing to give a monologue about the Shadow Phoenix's historic defeat, Harry only hoped that it would be long enough to give his Dementors enough time to come to his aid.

Indeed, only a few words into Tom Riddle's lovely speech was he interrupted by a feeling of intense cold, which sent the gathered spectators scrambling around for cover as they realized what was heading their way.

The Dark Lord hesitated for only a split of a second before concluding that the Dementors were his allies and therefore, of no threat to him and turning back on his prey.

With wand raised and poised to strike, Voldemort began the feared incantation, "_Avada Ked-_" before he was cut off as ten Dementors glided silently over to where he stood and calmly began devouring the core of Voldemort's essence.

With an angry roar at the Dementors, the Dark Lord began conversing with them in their own language.

Not knowing what was being said, Harry could only gage the reactions of both parties in order to find out what was going on and had to draw his own conclusions.

When Voldemort hissed like an angry cat at the conclusion of the conversation, shooting his Dark Mark into the sky to inform the Death Eaters of their retreat, Harry decided that Tom must have discovered his loss of power over the dark creatures and was beating a hasty retreat to reduce his losses.

_Well, this is great_, Harry thought sardonically as everyone was running in circles around each other from the appearance of the Dementors and had not even noticed that the dark creatures were leaving now that their task was completed.

_Everyone's so busy scrambling around that they've forgotten all about me...Hopefully they won't step on me._

Harry began to get worried as people came closer to where he was laying, still under the influence of the hex, unable to move. The worst part of it for Harry was that he could not even tilt his head up just a little to see who was coming to know if it was Death Eaters, Dumbledore's people, Aurors, or even the random people running about.

All he could see was the multitude (or what seemed like a multitude from his position) of long, dark shadows advancing on where he lay helpless.

There was a brief moment of panic as Harry thought that since Voldemort had already left and the Orb was out of reach, he would no longer be able to call back the Dementors for help if he needed them.

That panic was swiftly subdued as the tall, lean form of Dumbledore knelt beside him, uttering a short "_Finite_" and helping him stand.

Harry noticed that several of the Order members had followed Dumbledore over to get a look at the famed Shadow Phoenix before the old Headmaster cut into his thoughts.

"Are you alright, my boy? You gave us quite a scare when you were captured and we could not get to you."

"I'm quite alright, Mr. Dumbledore. Luckily Voldemort became distracted and fled so that you could help me."

"Indubitably. I am glad you remain moderately unharmed—nothing that a trained Mediwizard could not cure. In this war we have found ourselves in, it is good to have all the allies we can get."

_Hm...I wonder what he'd think if I told him three of those allies of his were the same person..._

"If you would permit us to help you, the nurse from my school is just a few blocks away and I'm sure she could have you healed up in a jiffy."

"That would be much appreciated, Mr. Dumbledore. Would you please lead the way?"

"Certainly, certainly. Right this way..."

The duo and following Order quickly found themselves in a sort of mini-encampment that had been established for the injured.

A tent had been set up with those that had been hurt being brought in and simply laid on the ground so that there was enough room. Mediwizards were rushing from patient to patient trying to pick out who was fatally wounded and portkeying them to St. Mungo's and placing those whose injuries were not quite so life-threatening into a "waiting area" of sorts.

Dumbledore led the group past all the patients and Mediwizards to the back of the tent where the Hogwarts Nurse Madame Pomphrey was helping a young boy who had become an orphan in the melee get settled onto his bed as she attached a splint to his leg.

Once she was finished and had begun to move onto someone else, Dumbledore called softly to her, "Poppy, if you could come here for a moment. I'd like your help for a moment."

"Yes, Headmaster, what seems to be the problem?"

"If you would be so kind as to fix this gentleman up, I would be most delighted."

"Indeed. Come sit over here so I may have a look at you."

Madame Pomphrey gasped as Harry stepped out of the shadows and into the light where she had indicated. Harry wondered if the surprise came from the spectacle of his bloody status or from the sight of the Shadow Phoenix up close.

Apparently it was his wounds because she was back to her ordinary, unruffled, and business-like manner in only a few seconds ordering him to "Take off that filthy robe right away so I can patch you up."

"Thank you, Poppy. This young man saved quite a few lives tonight by keeping Voldemort's attention away from the Muggles and somehow blocking the Orb of Souls I believe I saw?"

Harry nodded curtly and did not reply as Madame Pomphrey applied a cleaning potion to his cuts that hurt and stung, making him wince and hiss in pain for the brief second that it lasted.

Once that was finished, the nurse tapped each of the cuts with her wand in turn and they each began to diminish and close right before his eyes until his arms and torso looked exactly as they had before the fight began.

"Thank you very much madame. I am much obliged."

"You're very welcome and I thank you for keeping that," she waved an indistinct hand in front of her, indicating the numerous patients that kept appearing and disappearing, "from becoming more than what it could have been."

"Not a problem. Now, if you all would excuse me. I have somewhere else I need to be at the moment."

Without another word, Harry turned around and walked back out of the tent, Disapparating as soon as he was a good distance away and appearing again at the edges of the Forbidden Forest.

Before he could even go anywhere he saw Snape hurrying out of the castle towards where he was standing, his pace turning into a sprint when he saw the Shadow Phoenix standing at the edge of the wards.

"Hurry, boy! Turn back into yourself. The Dark Lord has called a meeting and you are to be present! We have to leave now! I've got your robes here."

Quickly shoving a dark mass in Harry's direction, the spy waited impatiently for him to morph back into Naito and don the clothes, hiding the Shadow Phoenix garb under a pile of leaves and needles; when both of them were ready, they both Apparated to Voldemort's side.

Grateful that he had let Dumbledore take him to Madame Pomphrey to be healed, Naito walked into Voldemort's throne room, no longer bearing the wounds that would have marked him as the Shadow Phoenix had he not been fixed up.

Everyone was already gathered as Snape and Naito walked in; they were the last to enter.

"Severus, Naito, you are late, I'm extremely displeased with you," hissed the Dark Lord, his fierce red eyes seeming to be illuminated from within.

Snape and Naito shared a brief glance; considering how Voldemort's raid had gone thanks to the Shadow Phoenix and the Order, Naito knew just how "displeased" Voldemort was and was easily able to deduce who his first targets were going to be.

Sure enough, five seconds later found the Potion's Master and the Boy-Who-Lived writhing on the ground, screams forced out through tightly clenched jaws as the Dark Lord unleashed his fury on his two spies.

It seemed to take forever before the curse was finally taken off, but it had really only been half a minute. When they were able to stand up without pitching back over again, Naito and Snape joined their fellow Death Eaters in their proper places among the ranks.

"At last, now that we are all in attendance," at this point Voldemort glared at the latecomers before commencing his speech, "we can finally begin this meeting. Lucius!"

"Yes, master?" asked the blonde aristocrat as he came forward, bowing before his lord.

"What news do you have on Ministry intelligence?"

Sarcastic comments about the Ministry not having any intelligence immediately came to mind, but Naito knew this was the _wrong_ time to express those ideas and so he kept silent.

"The Unspeakables know that the Orb of Souls and its accompanying book were taken from the Department of Mysteries, but they have not yet released to the Ministry the knowledge of what was taken. All the Ministry knows is that something was stolen and that is all they will release to the press."

"Excellent, then the Aurors will have no knowledge of how to block the Orb. Only the Shadow Phoenix seems to have that information," Voldemort snarled, talking to himself.

"If I may say, m' lord, the Unspeakables that studied the Orb might know as well and they have been given the power by the Ministry to hunt down your followers and use the Unforgivables."

At this news, the Dark Lord turned back around, eyes intense as he growled, "This is not good news, Lucius, and I do not believe I gave you permission to speak."

"Sorry, my-"

Malfoy's apology was quickly cut off as the Cruciatus Curse was put on him so Voldemort could vent some of the anger he felt from being beaten once again by his enemies, namely the Shadow Phoenix.

After Malfoy was released from the curse, Voldemort told him to have one of his spies look through the Ministry database to find a face to match up with the Shadow Phoenix's after he had been demasked. After that, several more Death Eaters were called upon to give reports of their assignments. Every single one of them was cursed as Voldemort found something to charge them with.

Close to the end, Snape was called upon to give information on Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix shortly followed by Naito.

"Do you have anything to add to Severus' report, Naito?"

"Yes, my lord."

Knowing that if he did not give the Dark Lord some good information, he would end up being cursed again just like the others, Naito decided to give away a little more information that what Dumbledore had dictated to him.

"I have found out that the Shadow Phoenix is now working for the Order. Dumbledore approached him at some point and now he passes on information of your movements to the Shadow Phoenix, which is how the SP knows where to find you to attack."

Glancing over at his Potion's Master, Naito saw that Snape was eyeing him oddly, and had a look of curiosity on his face, which was quickly masked.

Wondering what Snape was thinking, he almost missed the look of hunger in Voldemort's eyes as Naito talked about that man in the black mask. His voice a low, dangerous hiss, Voldemort asked, "Do you know the identity of this...Shadow Phoenix?"

Hesitating briefly, knowing the Dark Lord would not like a negative answer, Naito tentatively replied, "No, my lord. Not even Dumbledore knows the identity of the Shadow Phoenix; he attends the meetings discreetly, no one in the Order knows he is there. I only know because I overheard a conversation between him and the Headmaster not that long ago."

The Dark Lord was not pleased with that answer and so cursed him once again before instructing Naito to gather more information and find out who the Shadow Phoenix was.

With that done, the Death Eater meeting came to a conclusion and Voldemort sent everyone except Naito and Ganmou away with Snape waiting outside the door to take Naito back to Hogwarts.

Wondering what was going on, but knowing that it could not be anything good, Naito tried to stay calm and keep his Occlumency shields up as Voldemort circled him like vulture, Ganmou standing in the background, watching the proceedings intently.

Suddenly, Voldemort sprang into action; barraging Naito's mind with a powerful Legilimency attack, Voldemort sifted through Naito's projected memories, looking for all the information that he had on the Shadow Phoenix.

Not sure what Voldemort was trying to find out, Naito projected all the same things that he had just got done telling the Dark Lord during the meeting.

Finally, not really satisfied, but knowing he would not be able to find anything more, Voldemort paced in front of the young Slytherin, his eyes fixed on the boy's eyes, hoping to catch a slip in peripheral thoughts.

"Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to share with me about the Shadow Phoenix, maybe?"

"No, master."

"Really? You don't want to tell me why he said that Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in the world. And are you sure you don't want to tell me why he said it in the exact same context that Harry Potter used it in his second year against my memory?"

On the outside, Naito pasted an innocently confused look on his face as he said, "No, master," while on the inside Harry was kicking himself for saying that and growing anxious as to how he could make it out of this encounter alive.

"Oh? Well, why don't you give me a guess on why the Shadow Phoenix would say that then."

Trusting on his spying instincts to get him out of this mess, Naito said, "Well, this man has joined the Order; he obviously looks up to Dumbledore like all the other Order members do. I expect its something normal for the old coot's followers to say since you said Harry Potter has said it before too."

"I see. So you don't believe that this Shadow Phoenix could really be Mr. Potter in disguise?"

Naito started at that comment and rushed to cover it up by saying, "But I thought you said Harry Potter was dead. You said you had his aunt and uncle take him to a restaurant to be poisoned by your followers. How can he be the Shadow Phoenix if he is dead?"

For a long time Voldemort simply stared at him, hoping to catch him in his lie, but being unable to distinguish anything because of Naito's Occlumency shields, he merely said, "How indeed. You may leave," dismissing the boy from his presence.

Naito turned to leave as the Dark Lord approached Ganmou and asked, "Well what do you think?" in hushed tones.

"I do believe it is possible that he could have remembered his past, having now spent so much time in a familiar milieu, but-" was all he heard before he opened the door to find Severus Snape, Potion's Master and Dumbledore's spy eavesdropping at the door.

Closing the door quickly, Naito peered into Snape's eyes intently, trying to distinguish if the man had heard anything important from the conversation as Severus stared right back.

Finally deeming that there was no way to actually know what the Occlumens had heard or not, Naito started walking back towards the exit, Severus Snape following behind him at a quick pace.

Upon reaching the castle of Hogwarts, Harry and Snape went their opposite ways, Harry back to the Slytherin dormitory and Snape up to the Headmaster's office where he exclaimed, "Harry Potter's alive, Albus!"

_**(To Be Continued…)**_

**A/N-** I'm sorry for the underdevelopement of the chapter, especially since it's taken me 2 months to finally get it up, but unfortunately, I've been suffering from the two things every writer fears most: writer's block and life. (Oh, yeah...I also have no idea when the next time I update will be...)

**Coming Up:**_ Dumbledore and company go back to check Harry's grave to find the body missing! The Order talks to the Dursleys again and find out what happened at Harry Potter's "death" in Chapter 18: Six Feet Under?_

**_Review Responses:_** Now, I don't know how many of you know this, but I got an email saying that we are no longer allowed to answer reviews so I'm sorry to say there will be no more review responses. I would like to thank all of you, however, for your faithful reviewing despite my diligence to update.

**Thank you for reviewing!**


	18. Six Feet Under?

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** Nov 23-29, 2005

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** Alright, this is the chapter that ties together all of the clues from the previous chapters so we can finally find out everything that happened to Harry! And we get to see my genius at work in the process! Yay! (I swear, this is the only story I've written so far where I actually plant plot points ahead of time _on purpose_ for ppl to pick up on. Wow, that was way too many p's)

* * *

**Chapter 18: Six Feet Under?

* * *

**

"What did you say, Severus?" the old man asked, his face stoic, but his blinking, disbelieving eyes showed his confusion.

"I said, Harry Potter is alive, Albus! I heard it straight from the Dark Lord's own mouth!"

"Tell me everything, my dear boy."

Dumbledore's expression and tone was eager, as the old man leaned forward in his seat, ready to take in every infinitesimal detail.

Hurriedly, Severus told him everything he had heard, including the whispered exchange between Voldemort and Ganmou.

"I see," was all Dumbledore said in reply to Severus' account as he sat back in his chair, his old, wrinkled hand stroking his silky, white beard in thought.

After a brief moment of silence, Dumbledore finally looked back up at his Potion's Master and said, "So Voldemort believes that Naito is the Shadow Phoenix and that the Shadow Phoenix is Harry Potter. What I want to know is—how was Voldemort able to make us think Harry to be dead and then snatch him out from under our very noses back to his headquarters.

"Moreover, how was he able to transform Harry into Naito Koori, training him to be a spy? Harry is far too clever and headstrong to fall for anything Voldemort would offer him, therefore, his memory must have been altered somehow...or Voldemort threatened to hurt someone close to Harry.

"That can't be right though...Why would Naito faithfully follow the Dark Lord, even if he was threatened, only to turn on him later...unless he had some way of keeping those whose safety he was afraid for secure.

"But then, if that happened, or even if it didn't, why wouldn't he contact me to keep them safe? No, it has to be a memory modification...but how did Voldemort get to him? I just don't understand that part! What do you think, Severus?"

The Death Eater spy looked surprised at being addressed, too busy listening to the old man's hypothesizing tirade.

Onyx eyes blinked owlishly before the question penetrated and actually sunk into his brain. Thinking about it for a moment, he replied, saying, "Well, there are many ways it could have been done.

"Perhaps the corpse was merely an illusion planted to deceive us. Potter could have already been kidnapped before sometime, maybe on the way to the restaurant, since he's supposed to be safe with his relatives, and an illusion put in his place.

"Or he could have been kidnapped, like I mentioned before, and another wizard put into his place. He could have been put under the Imperious Curse and taken some new formulation of the Polyjuice Potion.

"These two I'm not too sure of as both the illusion and effects of the Polyjuice would fade away after a time, unless recast periodically. Since we had the body in our possession as we waited for the burial and there were no noticeable changes made to the body, it either means those two guesses are wrong or...we have a spy for Voldemort in the Order."

"Is there nothing else you can think of Severus?" Dumbledore practically pleaded. They needed to figure all this out. If Harry really was alive and he really was Naito Koori, who happened to be at Hogwarts in Dumbledore's domain, then that would mean they had their Savior back.

"Several, each as improbable as the next. I think, however, that we should look for clues and piece them together if we want to find out what happened."

"An excellent suggestion, my boy! And the best place to start would be the gravesite. Now, the only thing left to discuss is whether we share this with the rest of the Order or not?"

"Not, I believe. If there really is a spy in our midst, we would not wish for the Dark Lord to find out that we know of Potter's survival..._again_."

If Dumbledore noticed the sardonic emphasis on the last word, he gave no indication of it as he plowed right on.

"Indeed. I agree with you, Severus; are you ready to go?"

Snape started at the mention of leaving.

"What are you talking about, Albus! Surely this can wait until morning when we can actually have decent light to see by!"

"No, my boy. I'm afraid this cannot wait. We need to investigate this right away and what better time to discover the secrets of the dark than during the night-time itself!"

The Potion Master sneered in the usual Snape style, with extra glare added in so others would know of his immense displeasure.

"Fine!" he growled out, mumbling under his breath as the duo left the Headmaster's office, "Once again! I'm losing sleep over _Potter_!"

The only acknowledgement that Dumbledore had overheard the comment was the brief twitching of his mustache as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

* * *

Their arrival at the graveyard was insipid. The moon was not full, it was only a waning quarter moon, there were no wolves howling in the background, the trees were not eerie looking, everything was calm and serene. It was not the type of thing you would expect for such a mysterious mission.

A slight wind chilled Snape as he looked around himself, drawing his familiar cloak around him tighter to keep out the biting cold. The leaves of trees rustled slightly and an owl hooted from somewhere nearby as Dumbledore crouched near the headstone of one Harry James Potter.

Snape watched as Dumbledore waved his wand in a complex pattern, a string of Latin issuing from his mouth.

He stopped.

Snape blinked.

As if it had been that way all along, there was a pile of dirt stacked up beside an open grave, the casket sitting before them, shining and gleaming due to the numerous preservation charms on it.

Dumbledore glanced over at Snape, their eyes meeting each other's in the darkness. The Potion Master nodded, each determined to get to the bottom of this mystery come what may...

Looking back down at the black lid, Dumbledore released the catch and the lid sprang open.

Both Headmaster and teacher peered into the depths of the shadows on the dark velvet surface only to find...nothing.

There was no body...just an empty casket.

Snape looked on as Dumbledore began poking around, his wand jabbing here and there.

"Hm...Severus, come take a look at this! There is magical residue from a portkey here!"

"How can this be, Albus! It has been over a year since the corpse was put in it! How can the residue still cling to it?"

"Quite simple, my boy. Those numerous preservation charms keep this casket in the exact same condition it was in when we buried Harry in it. They also kept the magical residue from a portkey locked inside.

"What I want to know is: _how_ is there magical residue from a portkey here if Harry didn't have a portkey with him when we buried him...unless—Severus! Is there a way to make a liquid portkey that could be infused with the body and activated by a password?"

"I have never encountered any such potion, but I daresay it could be possible, especially since it is magic we're talking about."

"Do you think that maybe, just maybe, that 'poison' that Harry drank could have been the portkey and somehow put his body into a stasis so we would think him dead?"

"Indeed. It is possible."

"I think that's what it is then, but I will wait to draw final conclusions until we speak with the Dursley's again."

"It usually is best not to draw conclusions, especially when you don't have all the facts."

"You are right, of course. Meet you at Number Four!" and with that last departing statement, Dumbledore Apparated to Harry's former home, a sour looking Severus Snape disappearing a moment later after him.

"Thanks for waiting, Albus," Snape scowled as he caught up to the old man at the door of Number Four. Who knew for an old man that he could be so fast?

"Not a problem, my dear boy."

The Potion's Master turned his irritated gaze upon the Headmaster to see the twitch of his white mustache and his twinkling aquamarine eyes. The old coot was smirking at him! He was having fun at the expense of someone else!

_Well, it's not as if he's actually had anything to be happy about lately...I guess I can let it go for now,_ thought Severus as he carefully schooled his expression into a stoic mask.

"Would you like to do the honors, Severus?" the Headmaster asked, breaking into Snape's musings.

_Oh, yes_, he thought sarcastically, _because knocking on the door to the famous Harry Potter's relative's house is such an honor._

Without a word, the Death Eater spy took a step forward and knocked on the door. After waiting a few moments with nary a reply, he knocked again, this time more urgently and louder. When there was still no answer, the spy began to become irritated and incessantly began hammering the door with his fist.

Thankful to finally get a reaction this time, when Petunia Dursley opened the door, Snape simply forced the door open and marched in, Dumbledore trailing behind him, an expression of amusement etched onto his face. Everything just seemed funny to him ever since he found out his protégé was alive and well.

Petunia's protests of "You can't just come barging in here!" fell on deaf ears as the duo made themselves at home in the spacious living room.

"Hello, Petunia," said the Headmaster softly.

Her eyes widened considerably once she was finally calm enough to take in the countenances of her two guests and realize who they were.

"What are you doing here! We already told you once what happened! If we didn't do as they said they would have killed our son, what more do you want from us!"

"Just some information, Petunia, that is all. Do you think you can do that?"

The Dursley matron stared between the two wizards, her face openly registering her fear of them. Finally, after a moment of deliberation, she nodded a hesitant, jerky nod, but it was an acquiescence at least.

"Good, now, why don't you have a seat so we can get started."

Carefully, Petunia sat down as far away from Snape and Dumbledore as she could get.

"Thank you. Now, Petunia, what I need to know is what the Death Eaters said to you _exactly_."

"Well, as you know, they cornered me in an alley in London one day when I was shopping. They said if I wanted to keep my family alive then I should bring something of Lily's with me and meet them at a spot they had already predetermined.

"When they let me go, I ran home as soon as I could and picked up a necklace that my sister always used to wear that I had stuffed away in the attic. It had an odd flaming bird on it and just looked so unnatural that I could barely stand to touch it..."

"A phoenix."

Petunia blinked as if coming out of a daze and said, "What?"

"The flaming bird on the necklace, it was a phoenix."

"Oh. Well, anyways, I picked it up and took it to the place those men specified. They asked me if I had it and I handed it over. They looked it over and then did some funny movement with their sticks and said something weird, but—"

"What did they say? What did it sound like they said? Please, this is very important."

"Albus, I don't see why we don't just put her memories in a pensive and view them for ourselves," snapped Snape.

Dumbledore's only reply was to give a reproving stare before he turned back to Mrs. Dursley.

"It was something like 'port us' or 'mort us' or something like that. I'm not too sure."

"_Portus_," Dumbledore muttered to himself. "Yes, thank you, now, please, continue on."

"Yes, well, then they told me to give it to the boy. They said if I did what I was told they would take the boy "off our hands permanently" and "we'd never have to deal with him again." They also said that we would be paid a right nice sum and best of all; I would get to keep my family alive."

"And what was it that they instructed you to do, Petunia?"

"They told me to give the necklace to the boy, but not to say where it came from. They told me that a week or so from then, whenever we got the signal, we should go to the restaurant and make sure the boy drank whatever he ordered.

"They said he would go into a sort of fit, but that it was just for show and didn't really mean anything. They said that after that, they would take care of everything else."

"I see. Thank you very much for your time. We will be leaving now, and I would appreciate it if you did not mention to anyone of our coming here."

Harry's Aunt nodded to them as she closed the door behind them, turning the light back out in the living room and returning to bed.

"Well, now we know that whatever Harry drank wasn't a liquefied portkey; it was really the necklace given to him by his Aunt," Snape told the Headmaster upon arriving back in Dumbledore's office.

"And since she probably told him it came from his mother, he would have wanted to wear it everywhere he went, including the restaurant. We found it on him when he 'died' and left it on when he was buried. It must have been password activated so that Voldemort could call Harry to him whenever he was put under."

"Indeed. Many of the prominent pureblooded families were there, including those with Death Eater affiliations. It would have been simple for the Dark Lord to instruct them to inform him whenever the proceedings were over and he could snatch Potter from the grave."

"Alright, so we now know the answer to the question of how Voldemort was able to kidnap Harry, but we still don't know how he managed to convince us that he was dead. We know that it wasn't an illusion or someone else Polyjuiced to look like Harry so there must be an alternative solution."

Both Order members sat back in their seats, thinking of possibilities.

"I wonder, Severus...do you think potion ingredients from different areas of the world react differently in potions than those same ingredients when picked from here?"

"Of course, Albus, the components of ingred—"

"A simple yes would have sufficed, my boy."

"Yes, Albus," Snape ground out between clenched teeth, "Now, what are you getting at?"

"Do you remember what you told me during our Order meeting of this ordeal?"

"Which part?"

"The part about the new recruit from Japan that you thought was a Potion Master sent to replace you? You said you saw the brew he was making, but one of the ingredients were different, something from his country, that made the potion look different. Do you remember what that potion reminded you of?"

Snape's eyes widened at the realization.

"Yes! It was the Draught of Living Death! Only, when I checked for symptoms of that on your instruction when we thought him dead, I couldn't find anything because of the foreign ingredients! Albus, you're a genius, why didn't I think of it before?"

"Let's not get into that, we still have one more piece of the puzzle that we need to put in place. How did Harry lose his memories?"

"Well, there are three possible scenarios I can come up with for this one. Either he's been obliviated, which I highly doubt because their 'effects' do not 'wear off' as I remember Ganmou and the Dark Lord whispering to each other about that.

"So the only options left are: it's a new or foreign spell or a new or foreign potion. We will not be able to distinguish if it is either one of those unless we hear it from the source."

"I do believe you are right, Severus; we are not going to be able to break this down anymore. Now the only thing we have to find out is if Naito knows he's Harry Potter..."

* * *

_There's only one reason Dumbledore can want to talk to me, especially after I caught Snape eavesdropping on Voldemort—he knows..._ Harry thought as he approached the Headmaster's office and the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance.

Anxiously, Harry awaited Dumbledore's acknowledgement in Naito's persona as he stood at the top of the spiral staircase. When the acknowledgement came, Naito wiped all expression from his face and put up a calm façade.

"Please have a seat, my dear boy. We have much to discuss," said the Headmaster, Snape leaning against a wall a sinister expression on his face that he usually reserved for Potion's lessons with Harry.

Naito picked the chair closest to the door and set it at an angle where he could keep his eyes on both the Headmaster and Snape.

"Oh, really," he replied, not wanting to get into the discussion that he knew was coming, thankful that at least he could face the two of them on a full night of sleep.

"Yes, what I would like to ask you, Mr. Koori, is what do you know about Harry Potter?"

"Well, a great many things...just like everyone else."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that he's dead," Naito said bluntly in the hopes that Dumbledore would flinch away from such a sore topic and let him go back to bed.

_Yeah, and Voldemort's going to declare world peace and give all the muggleborns Christmas presents! There's no way you're getting out of this one, Potter!_

Just as he presumed, instead of flinching from the blatant use of his 'dead' savior's name, Dumbledore's eyes seemed to only twinkle more.

"On the contrary, Mr. Koori! I must confess to you that for being prided as one of Voldemort's top spies, you are being surprisingly kept in the dark about a great many things."

Naito glared at the Headmaster, just because he pretended to be ignorant did _not_ mean that the man could call him an idiot.

"That's nice, but I don't see how any of this has any connection to me..."

"Yes, yes. I shall get to that in a second; first allow me to tell you what interesting discoveries I have made recently."

And with that, Dumbledore began to tell his tale of the previous night's investigation.

Harry felt resigned to the fact that they knew about him and there was nothing he could do about it. The feeling only deepened as Dumbledore revealed fact after fact of proof.

"You see, once we discovered that Harry Potter might be alive, we immediately checked the grave where we laid him to ascertain what was going on."

Balking at the fact that he had actually been buried, Naito slouched in his chair insolently in response to Dumbledore's revelation.

"It was there that I discovered traces of a portkey in the magical residue that was sealed inside through the numerous preservation charms placed on the casket. This evidence gave us hope that what we had learned about Harry being alive was true.

"The next place we decided to search for clues was at Harry's relatives—they had been a part of the plot and had been instructed by the Death Eaters themselves before Harry returned from school to carry out their machinations."

Emerald-turned-aquamarine orbs flashed in anger as the revelation of the Dursley's participation came to light.

"Harry's aunt told us that she had been instructed to find some token of Harry's mother, bring it to the Death Eaters so they could make it a portkey, and then give it to Harry who would undoubtedly wear it, or take it with him wherever he went."

Naito had to forcefully hold himself in check at this news, _so that was why she gave me that necklace! I always wondered why she was being so nice to me. She was setting me up!_

"Their plan worked; Petunia brought them a necklace of Lily's in the shape of a phoenix, which we found and left on Harry's person during the burial since we deemed it harmless."

_Harmless indeed!_ Naito thought as he jerked roughly in anger, hurrying to cover it by shifting in his seat. He did not know how successful he was, however, as Snape gave him a suspicious glance.

"Now that we knew that Harry had been kidnapped upon his burial we had to find out how we were tricked into thinking he was dead.

"The simple solution is that he'd been given a modified version of the Draught of Living Death. With the use of foreign ingredients we were unable to detect that Harry was not really dead, but the effects of the potion made it seem that way."

_Sucks to be you_, thought Naito savagely.

"While we all thought that James and Lily's son had been lost like his parents, he was really being held captive by Voldemort and trained to be his puppet. He was made to become Voldemort's spy here at Hogwarts and weed out those of his Death Eaters that were disloyal to him. Can you see where I'm going with this now?"

No longer able to keep up the charade now that he had been found out, Naito confessed.

"Yes. I know that I am Harry Potter and have for some time; I was able to regain all my lost memories through flashbacks that I've been having since I've been here."

It was not a complete lie, but it was not completely the truth either. Snape was the only one so far that knew definitely of his connection to the Shadow Phoenix and Naito wanted to keep it that way.

Nor was he ready to give up all of his experiences and special talents that he had developed during his past year of training. He was not ready to be used by Dumbledore again; he was no longer the Headmaster's Golden Boy Savior ready to sacrifice himself for everyone.

Now, he was a self-preserving, cunning, Slytherin and he wanted to actually survive this war.

"How long have you known, Harry?"

"Since the Christmas holiday break, and my name is no longer Harry, Headmaster, it's Naito. You should keep this information to yourself—the very walls have ears," said Naito, glancing at the portraits pretending to be asleep on the walls.

"Indeed they do, Naito," said Dumbledore, looking dejected, the twinkle of hope disappearing completely from his eyes. "Do you remember how you lost your memories, Naito?"

Felling that it was safe enough to answer this question and that it was to his benefit in case he ever lost his memories again, Naito said, "It was a portion that they use in Japan to erase a person's background from their mind. They would retain the knowledge of everything they learned, they would still be able to operate, but they would have no identity," Naito quoted from his lessons with his guardian Ganmou.

"Ganmou made some at Voldemort's instruction and administered it to me so they could start over with a completely new slate."

"I see, one more thing I have to ask you about though: do you remember the prophecy?"

"Naito glanced at his Head of House warily as the Potion's Master's sudden movement drew his gaze.

_What was that about? He looked surprised? Was it because the Headmaster told me about the prophecy? Does he know what it says?_

"Yes, I do. I already have plans in motion to fulfill it."

"I see. Well, I do not believe we have anything more to talk about, Mr. Koori. You may leave if you have no more to tell me."

Without a second glance back, Naito turned and exited the office, returning to his common room so he could finish reading the Orb of Souls book and learn how to trap Voldemort inside it.

"Well, now we know all the facts..." Dumbledore muttered to the room at large negligently as he sat back in his chair to think and go over everything.

"Yes," said Snape distractedly as he tried to grasp the fact that Potter was Potter no longer. He had changed and did not intend to go back to the life that he had had before.

He was not going to abandon the life of spying for the glory and fame of his previous identity. He was discarding all of that to do what he knew was necessary to get rid of Voldemort and Snape was amazed.

They were both puppets and their fates were tied together, both depending on the fall of the Dark Lord.

For now, Snape supposed, he could treat Naito Koori like a human being—after all, he was no so annoying now that he no longer looked like his father, acted conceited, rash, and reckless, or strutted around like an arrogant bighead.

Although, as soon as he reverted back to his former "Boy-Who-Lived" status, Severus Snape, Potion's Master, Hogwart's Professor, Voldemort's spy, and bane of Harry Potter's existence would pounce.

"Well, these revelations have cleared up quite a few odd occurrences that I have been wondering about," mumbled Dumbledore, shocking Snape from his reverie.

"Like what?"

"I always wondered why Fawkes was so taken with Naito, he was a complete stranger and one that we knew worked for Voldemort at that.

"I also wondered how he was able to sneak into Grimmauld Place to spy on us when it was under the Fidelius Charm and I had never told him how to get in."

"Potter always has seemed to defy the laws and common perceptions of magic, why should he stop now that he's become anonymous?"

* * *

_**(To Be Continued…)

* * *

**_

**A/N-** Wow, this was a surprisingly easy chapter to write! All the stuff I needed was already in the story...I didn't have to make anything new up, just tie all the strings together. Thank you everyone that reviewed! (since I can no longer thank you individually...gives everyone a treat)

**Coming Up: **_Voldemort's tired of being consistently thwarted by the Shadow Phoenix and decides to do something about it. To find out who the traitor among his ranks that is passing information to the Shadow Phoenix is, he decides to set a trap for the unsuspecting person. Find out more in Chapter 19: Biting Off Too Much_.


	19. About Updates

Alright you guys...Sorry to get your hopes up for a chapter, but I just felt the need to tell you that I AM **_NOT_** ABANDONING THIS FIC! This has been a VERY busy school year and there is no possible chance of me being able to update until this summer...I've got the next chapter at least 3/4ths of the way completed, but I haven't been able to add anymore b/c of my workload...I shall return! Please don't give up on me! I don't have a definite update date yet, but look for a new chapter to replace this one beginning the weekend of May 13/14 (MAYBE...I'm making no promises—just be on the lookout)

Thank you all for waiting so patiently, please hold out just a little bit longer!

SerafinaMoon


	20. Biting Off Too Much

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** Dec 20, 2005-May 16, 2006

**Summary:** Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** **_THANKS SO MUCH TO THOSE THAT REVIEWED!_** You guys are what make writing so much fun! I always look forward to reading what you all have written and thank you for all being so patient with me! It's been a REALLY crazy year.

**Chapter 19: Biting Off Too Much**

The air was dank and humid in the lower layers of Voldemort's fortress; the rock walls were slick with mildew and water that dripped from rusted pipes that stuck out of the walls. They had been cut off because of the remodeling that had to be done due to the damage caused by the fight that had broken out between Remus, Tonks, the Shadow Phoenix, and the Death Eaters.

Rats scurried from cell to rank cell, squeaking occasionally and getting annoyingly underfoot of anyone walking down the now cleared out corridor.

Lucius Malfoy happened to be one such person that had the hapless misfortune to tread on one of the furry little animals, causing it to squeak in pain and dismay as it quickly scurried out of sight into the darkness of one of the less illuminated cells.

Malfoy cursed angrily, muttering all sorts of foul things he would like to do to the filthy rodents if only their master's pet snake did not care for her food to be living.

"Get over it, Malfoy, you're not the only one that has to put up with the disgusting creatures," Bellatrix Lestrange intoned in a bored voice.

"Hey!" protested Pettigrew, sounding much like the rodent that had gone squealing off into the darkness.

"See what I mean?"

Pride stinging from the retort, Wormtail only glared at the witch from beneath his hood.

"While you might not mind living in such filth, I do; mind you, I wasn't locked up in Azkaban screaming at the Dementors and muttering to my imaginary friends-"

"Oh yes you were! Or do you forget having to be rescued by our master after that Ministry fiasco! You forget your place, you-!"

"Enough, the both of you! Whether you are concerned or not about being on time for our appointment with the Dark Lord, I don't care, but I shall not allow you to make me tardy as well with your foolish bickering," sneered the Japanese Potion's Master Ganmou irritably.

After a few tense moments of silence, Peter injected into the silence, "It stinks in here..."

"Oh, for the love of Merlin! What do you expect? The smell of flowers? This is where the Dark Lord's prisoners are kept, Wormtail, of course it'll smell like their tortured, filthy bodies-!"

"SHUT UP!" Ganmou roared, this time the others heeded his warning and fell silent.

Together, the four Death Eaters trudged up to Voldemort's throne room where the Dark Lord was waiting for them, his eyes blazing with fury and contempt.

"Enter," Voldemort hissed furiously, which his followers immediately obeyed.

"What can we do for you, Master?" inquired Bellatrix, her voice quivering only slightly in fear of speaking without being given permission.

"Rise," snapped the Dark Lord impatiently, which made the Death Eaters hasten to obey.

"Tell me, have you noticed any change in Naito's behavior recently? Each of you were given the special privilege of training him and would know him better than any of my other followers, has he seemed to have changed at all since he was placed at Hogwarts."

Ganmou kept his mouth closed, knowing that he did not need to give his opinion as he had already discussed with Voldemort his suspicions in their last meeting when they had confronted Naito.

Lucius and Bellatrix shared a glance of curiosity, each silently asking the other if they had noticed anything. Lestrange gave a barely perceptible shake of the head and Lucius turned to address the Dark Lord.

"No, Master...he has been giving weekly reports just like he was instructed, he behaves the same as usual at meetings, and there have been no accusations of suspicions against him, my lord."

"Very well. All of you know there is a traitor in our midst. There is no other way that Dumbledore's people could have been rescued; whoever aided them reset my wards so they could take people out as long as they were under the jurisdiction of one of my Death Eaters.

"Also, lately that Shadow Phoenix has been popping up unexpectedly at every attack we have made, demonstrating knowledge of inside information that they could only have gained by penetrating my Inner Circle."

"But you've taken precautions against that haven't you, Master? I thought nobody knew about any of the attacks beforehand, you said-AHHHHHH!" Peter Pettigrew's sentence was cutoff as he learned the hard way not to interrupt or question the Dark Lord Voldemort.

"Of course, I have taken measures against it, you fool! The only one who knew completely of every plan was me, but due to a meeting between Naito and me, I have begun to believe I know how he is doing it."

"Are you sure it is not Snape, my Lord. He has long since been suspected of being the traitor."

"No, I have nothing to suspect Severus of any more than usual; whether he remains trustworthy has yet to be determined, but one thing I am almost sure of is that Naito Koori is not.

"Something he has said to me previously sounded suspiciously like something the Shadow Phoenix told me at our encounter at the Ministry of Magic, which leads me to believe that Naito, while at Hogwarts, has formed a loyalty to someone other than me.

"I do not wish to simply dispose of such talent and potential if he is not the one, however, he has been most informative during his stint at Hogwarts. Thus our need to discover who the traitor among us has become our top priority, as there can be no more attacks until the Shadow Phoenix's identity is discovered."

"What do you propose we do about it, Master?"

"Set a trap. Lucius, Bella, I wish for you to procure me a member of Dumbledore's Order, any of them will do as surely the Shadow Phoenix will be sent to rescue them. You may command a small group to attack Hogsmeade if it suits you, but bring me back one of the Order, alive and relatively unharmed.

"Ganmou, I want you to find a cell, one particularly infested with rats and ward it against escape, animagi, etcetera, and put an alarm on it that will sound and set off a booby trap if anybody wearing a mask enters the room...I will speak with you individually to give you details of my plans.

"And Wormtail, I wish for you to accompany Ganmou and hide in one of the crevices in your rat form, be sure to stay away from the anti-animagus wards as you will be found out, the wards will apply only to the cell itself. I want you to stay there and tell me whoever it is that enters the room to save Dumbledore's lackey."

"Yes, Master!" all the Death Eaters chanted.

"Now go! Do as I have commanded!"

"Yes, Master!" and with that, they dispersed.

Putrid smoke and other acrid scents wafted through the air, the humidity and odors making potions students' hair curl in on itself and plaster strips and tendrils of hair to their faces, which they hastily brushed back in order to gain a miniscule amount of control over their potions.

Naito was having no such trouble with his potion, having been under the tutelage of Master Ganmou for a year, going all the way back and relearning the basics of potion making under his careful and meticulous instruction and being held under the Cruciatus whenever he failed to respond to a question promptly and accurately.

In fact, Naito was quite bored; he was able to create and design his own potions and had fallen into an easy routine. He was going through the motions of brewing his potion, but hardly paying attention to what he was doing. After having read the instructions once, he was quite able to allow his body to take over and do all the work.

Thus it was a nice intrusion into his boring routine when Professor Dumbledore came into the Seventh Year Slytherin/Gryffindor Potions Class and told Snape that he was to be dismissed early from his class.

With a softly incanted _Evanesco_, Naito cleaned out his cauldron after retrieving a sample, cleaned up his workstation, deposited his almost completed potion on the Professor's desk, and exited the room with the Headmaster.

Neither spoke much, only a simple exchange of pleasantries, until they were safely inside the Headmasters office, away from the prying eyes and ears of unnecessary over-hearers.

"What's the matter, Professor?" asked Naito casually once they had reached the top of the spiral staircase.

"I'm afraid that Remus has been captured on a mission for me. He was negotiating with the werewolves and someone reported him. I need you to find out where Voldemort is keeping him and free him."

"Of course, Headmaster, but do you want me to go now? Or would you rather I waited until tonight?"

"Hm...perhaps it would be better to wait...alas, maybe not..."

Dumbledore drifted off for a moment, muttering to himself, forcing Naito to inquire, "Um, sir? What do you want me to do?"

The headmaster seemed to draw himself up in preparation to deliver his decision.

"Go now, I will make the proper excuses for you."

"Alright, see you later, Professor Dumbledore."

"Take care and good luck, Naito."

His only reply was a saucy wink and the thud of the closing door.

Naito hurried down the stairs and up the passageway, turning sharply and heading for the secret passage to Hogsmeade as he transfigured his clothing into his Death Eater garb without donning the mask so people would not panic when they saw him pass by.

Stepping out into the Honeyduke's cellar, Naito swiftly and silently made his way out of the shop and into the street where he would be able to Apparate to Voldemort's mansion just outside the wards.

Looking around and taking inventory of his surroundings, Naito noticed that his modified wards had not been tampered with. They had neither been changed nor corrected.

_Does that mean Voldemort has not noticed them yet or something more sinister?_

Naito took a step forward through the wards and was immediately assaulted.

A bloody specter of a woman appeared before his mind's eye as soft, light words drifted on the wind, melodiously caressing his face with their dulcet tones—a sharp contrast to the prophecy's words of warning.

_Beware! Beware! The snitch will hark! Beware!_

_Darkness' servant is lurking close by—_

_Take care! Take care! Ally is foe! Take care!_

_The time for the dark treachery is nigh—_

_Realization has come upon the master;_

_All has been and all will be at end for thee._

_If one is sly, there be no disaster;_

_Power of The One can stop the killing spree._

_Use knowledge of past and facts of present—_

_To bring destruction to the destroyer._

_Curo! The future may still be pleasant—_

_Spare not a mercy for thy employer._

_Then evil's head be dead with no more to dread;_

_It will be finished so let no more be said._

Staggering as the apparition released him from whatever hold she had over him, Naito furiously tried to unscramble the secret message within the prophecy.

The entirety of it was clearly talking about him and Voldemort, but the first line made no sense at all.

The snitch—someone who knew something about a secret—will hark, or reveal that secret.

As this prophecy was about Voldemort and Naito and only Dumbledore and Snape knew about _his secret_ that line just made no sense. The two that knew about him were obviously not going to tell Voldemort what they knew and as Naito doubted that Voldemort had any kind of secret he was willing to share, he just did not understand what that particular line could mean.

The next line, about "Darkness' servant lurking close by," Naito thought was pretty obvious. He was at Voldemort's secret headquarters, so one would think some of his minions would be around.

"Ally is foe," could have been a representation of Naito not truly knowing who he could trust with this whole charade going on as it had.

The last line, "time for the dark treachery is nigh" could mean a betrayal would take place soon, but who was to be betrayed and who was to be the betrayer had not been revealed.

_Are all prophecies this vague just to annoy people to death?_ Naito wondered irritably as he realized he had been standing in one place for too long and needed to complete his mission. He started walking; keeping a distracted watch out for other Death Eaters as he finally put on his mask and made his way towards the mansion.

The master in the first line of the second stanza was Voldemort, that part was easy, but what realization had come upon him?

Naito gasped as he comprehended that Voldemort might have realized Naito was no longer loyal to him.

_Could that be what "the time for the dark treachery is nigh" be referring to?_

The next line that stated "All has been and all will be at end for thee" was the one that frightened Naito the most with its implications.

If that meant what he thought it did then Naito would either be extremely blessed or extremely cursed and so would the rest of the world.

All his life had been based on that accursed prophecy that stated he was the only one that could defeat Voldemort; according to _this_ prophecy whatever conclusion was coming, was coming soon.

Naito just hoped he was the one that could win, or the future of the wizarding and muggle worlds would be very bleak indeed.

The next two lines were reiterating that Naito was the only one that could vanquish Voldemort and if he was careful, he could prevent a disaster.

Naito thought the whole next stanza might be telling of a way he could defeat Voldemort, but was not exactly sure what the insinuations were alluding to.

"Use knowledge of past and facts of present/ To bring destruction to the destroyer," Naito muttered to himself out loud to get a better grasp of the words' meaning.

The next word _Curo!_ was Latin for pay attention to what is being said basically so Naito knew that this part of the prophecy was extremely important and the part that he needed to understand most.

"Knowledge of past and fact of present...knowledge of past and fact of present...knowledge of past—"

_That's it! The knowledge of the prophecy and facts that I've recently gathered about the Orb of Souls! I have to use the Orb of Souls to destroy Voldemort. Of course! The prophecy says vanquish, not kill or destroy so I have to get rid of him, that's the only way to ensure that he doesn't escape again. _

_That book on the orb says how to destroy it so once I've captured him; I can destroy the orb to make sure he can NEVER come back! Brilliant! That explains the last two lines of this prophecy too! That_ is_ what I need to do..._

With a new firm resolve to defeat Voldemort whatever the cost, Naito slunk around corners and down passageways that led to the dungeon where Remus would most likely be kept.

Right as Naito was about to rush around a corner in haste of pursuing his quarry, two guards materialized from around a corner on the opposite side of the hallway, walking toward him as they conversed in hushed tones.

Naito flinched back out of their sight and hid in an abandoned room off the side of the adjoining hall and slid into the shadows behind a doorpost.

It was then that he began to wonder about Voldemort's lack of guards.

Those two had been the only ones he had seen since arriving at the mansion...

Naito knew that Voldemort either had an attack planned, which meant that not many Death Eaters would be about, there was a meeting, which Naito would most likely be called to be in attendance for, or this was all an elaborate trap to catch Order members that tried to rescue Remus or the traitor among the Death Eater ranks.

In other words—Naito...

This gave the Gryffindor turned Slytherin pause as he contemplated all the different scenarios he could think of.

Where before, knowing that it was a trap would only have made him more reckless as he rushed into danger, now he had been trained by Voldemort and his followers, giving him an intimate knowledge of how they worked, this allowed him to plan out his moves on the chessboard like a Slytherin.

He thought of all the possibilities and the consequences of taking certain steps, but no matter what he came up with he always came to the same conclusion...he had to keep going.

Dumbledore expected him to bring Remus back and despite whether it was a trap or not, information could be extracted from the werewolf that Voldemort did not need to know about the Order's movements.

_Beware! Beware! The snitch will hark! Beware!_

Despite all the misgivings Naito had about continuing on and walking into a trap, he went on anyway, wanting to do what he could for the war effort. Besides, now that he thought he was walking into a trap, it would only make him all the more aware and cautious of his surroundings.

Naito became increasingly attentive to the wards that seemed to swell in number each time he descended another level.

As he turned the last corner, and approached an especially warded cell, Naito knew he had come to the right place.

Interpreting the ward's signatures, Naito found out what the multiple layers of wards were for and smirked.

One prevented him from wearing a mask inside the cell—most likely they thought he would come as the Shadow Phoenix with his mask and try to surpass the wards. If he had not have learned from the Dark Lord himself how to identify, dismantle, and twist wards, he probably would have fallen for it.

Luckily for him, all the spells were easy to get by.

All he had to do was take off his mask, walk in, and get Remus. The other wards surrounding the cell merely prevented Animagus and Metamorphmagus transformations, cloaking devices or spells, and other spells to hide one's appearance. First of all they would notify the Dark Lord if someone donning such a spell tried to enter and would automatically nullify the spell that was in use.

Thinking about the situation more in depth, Naito wondered if it was not all about the Death Eaters figuring out the Shadow Phoenix's identity. With all the wards that would negate cloaking spells, it certainly seemed to be that way.

This thought in mind, Naito rotated on the spot, seeing if he could identify a shimmer of light, the tale-tale sign of a Disillusionment charm. Just because the wards were on the cell, did not mean they were on the adjacent corridor. Anyone could be standing around, watching, waiting for the moment he would take off his mask.

Casting several revealing charms on the area around him, Naito deemed it clear of invisible persons. Next he wondered if Voldemort had gotten into Muggle recording technology and was perhaps filming him.

Scrutinizing the walls, floor, ceiling, and every nook and cranny he could find in the hallway and what he could see of the inside of the cell, he deduced that there was nothing to be found in the way of a Muggle camera.

The only other thing he could think of would be Pettigrew in his rat Animagus form. Knowing that he could not be _inside_ the cell and remain and Animagus, he had to be somewhere in the hallway or a crack in the wall. Not discovering his presence, however, Naito finally took off his mask and unlocked the door of the cell.

_Darkness' servant is lurking close by—_

Wondering who was supposed to be guarding the cell, Naito figured it had to be the two Death Eaters he had passed on his way down that had been summoned by Voldemort.

Deciding there was nothing left for it; Naito hauled Remus to his feet, steadying him with a hand as he swayed on trembling feet and led them back out the way they had come. He never noticed the fat, grey rat huddled in a crack in the wall connected to the cell that was watched with keen, interested eyes.

_Take care! Take care! Ally is foe! Take care!_

_The time for the dark treachery is nigh—_

Voldemort stared with vitriol at the crack in the wall that any moment Wormtail would come through and report to him about his missing Order member.

He was sure by now that it had been Naito that was the traitor among them. Ganmou had been right; he never should have sent the boy to be a spy for him at Hogwarts where he would have all those familiar people and surroundings to remind him of who he really was and none of his faithful would be able to rein him in if he needed it. Voldemort had indeed given him too much freedom too quickly.

Instead, he should have put him in charge of raids he conducted, with the young spy doing that, it would be assured that he would have successful raids and there would be only a miniscule chance that he would lose one of his best Death Eaters.

Now he would have to revert back to his original plans before he had converted the icon of the light into a soldier of the dark: kill Harry Potter.

_Realization has come upon the master;_

Just at that moment, a rat came bounding into the room through the crack, transforming back into a man while still halfway across the room.

"Master! Master!" panted Pettigrew urgently.

"Who is it?" asked the Dark Lord, already anticipating the answer.

"You were right, my lord, it was Naito, he came and rescued the werewolf!"

"That is all, Wormtail, leave me."

Peter scampered away as quickly as his short, stubby legs would allow before the Dark Lord changed his mind and cursed him into oblivion.

_If the prophecy is going to continue bringing the two of us together time and again no matter how much we try to avoid it, we might as well get it over with and finally end it once and for all_, mused Voldemort calmly.

_All has been and all will be at end for thee._

"Ganmou!" Voldemort called into the stillness.

"Yes, my lord," inquired said Potion's Master coming out of a side room adjacent to the throne room.

"It's time to punish the traitor..."

"The Dark Lord has instructed me to inform you that there will be a meeting tonight. Here are your instructions."

Severus Snape slipped Naito a small piece of parchment before turning and walking stiffly away, going to prepare a small batch of potions Voldemort had instructed him to make while Ganmou warded the throne room for the meeting that night.

It had been an extremely odd meeting that Severus had with the Dark Lord when he went to receive his orders. He did not think that his master looked him in the eye even once when usually he did it every few seconds just so he could pry into his mind and "extract" whatever information he wanted.

This time he had seemed distracted, an eerie, maniac gleam in his ruby, red eyes. It was a look that promised pain and torture and Snape felt sorry for whatever poor sod would receive his ministrations.

As he entered his potion's lab, his thoughts turned to the glee that had been evident on Voldemort's face when they had met. Obviously whatever brought the Dark Lord pleasure was not a good thing...Snape wondered if he ought to tell Dumbledore.

_Tell him _what_ exactly? That, as usual, he's got some evil machinations in the works that the Order has no idea where to even begin? What is the use of going to Dumbledore if there is no concrete evidence?_

Snape sighed in resignation that he would just have to wait and see and then report back to the Order as soon as he got a chance.

Finally, Snape put the cap on the very last bottle and was ready to depart for the Dark Lord's mansion.

Once inside, he stalked the halls in his usual forbidding manner, making him smirk when _Worm_tail saw him and cowered in fear.

Snape took his place in the ring of the Inner Circle and waited, still as a statue, for the meeting to start. He did not yet know what was to happen at this meeting or even what was different this time compared to every other time, but one thing he knew for sure: something was going to happen and it was _not _going to be mutually beneficial for all involved parties.

It took only a few moments for everyone to arrive, after all, everyone knew that the consequences for tardiness would be unpleasant, and Voldemort soon began speaking, almost as if he was just bursting to reveal some great, secret assault.

"My _loyal_, Death Eaters," the Dark Lord hissed, special emphasis placed on the word loyal. "You have been summoned tonight to witness the outcome that awaits those who deem me incompetent."

Several mutterings rustled through the group as each Death Eater murmured their thoughts on that subject.

"Poor fool-"

"Pure folly, that is-"

"Now!" Bellowed the Dark Lord in a voice that quieted all others, "I hope each of you will take to heart what you will witness and remember that Lord Voldemort does not kindly reward and openly welcome back those that turn away from him. I am not prone to such foolishness as _forgiveness_ like that muggle-loving fool Albus Dumbledore. Just remember what awaits you should you ever decide that turning away from our cause will be profitable for you."

Everything suddenly became quite and still as they waited for what Voldemort would do next.

With a sharp motion of his hand, Voldemort wandlessly threw open the doors with a bang revealing a single, stiff-backed figure clothed in Death Eater apparel and looking just as sinister and menacing as any of the Senior Death Eaters in the room.

Naito strode calmly and confidently forward as the Dark Lord summoned him with a careless motion as Voldemort sat back against his throne-like chair.

As the twin, double-doors ominously slammed back into their previous positions, Naito reached Voldemort's chair and dropped onto one knee, kissing the hem of the Dark Lord's robes and murmuring pacifying platitudes in the snake-man's direction.

Then, without warning, a dark, dragon-hide boot lashed out, striking Naito in the nose, sending spurts of red blood flying as it connected. Naito's face registered surprise before it was quickly mastered and he quietly inquired through his broken appendage, "My Lord?"

"You have disappointed me, Naito. This entire time that you have been sequestered at Hogwarts, I have received no useful information from those that bring your reports back. Perhaps I should have made you deliver your reports directly to me instead of another _loyal_ follower. Maybe then you would have been more forthcoming, but as it is, I do believe you have been come complacent while you were away."

"No, my Lord! I—"

"Enough of your excuses, why don't you reveal to me the real reason that you have decided to betray me? Is it—"

"No! I never—"

"_Do not interrupt me_, _impudent child! You will listen when I speak to you and speak only when you have been addressed!_" Voldemort hissed in rage.

Naito remained silent as those merciless ruby eyes stared down at him without pity.

"Much better; now, where was I? Oh, yesss...could you have strayed away because of something that muggle-loving fool has told you, or maybe because while pretending to make friends with those you were to obtain information from, you really became friends with them, or is it that you have always had this defiance inside of you and just hidden it well?"

This question seemed a bit pointed to Naito as if Voldemort was stringing him along and just waiting until he was far enough in that the rope would be looped over his neck and tightened so he could not get away.

Glowering slightly, but attempting to conceal it from those blood-colored eyes that missed nothing, Naito said in the most confident voice he could manage, "I have never betrayed you, my Lord."

_That would insinuate that I was loyal to you at some point in time_, Naito thought with satisfaction.

"Oh, then why is it that one of my _faithful _followers found you freeing that mangy mut—Remus Lupin—from my dungeons?"

It was at that moment that Naito's epiphany revealed to him what the Dark Lord knew and had known for approximately some time it seemed; Voldemort knew that Naito knew that "Naito" was merely a pseudonym for "Harry Potter."

He was found out.

Naito's eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened into a thin, white line. So that previous comment _had_ been Voldemort insinuating something. Well, if Voldemort wanted to play Slytherin, Naito could play the opposing Gryffindor!

(Even if it was reckless and foolhardy...)

"Hm...perhaps you are right about me. Although I did find it a little bit harder to serve you once it was revealed to me who you really were," Naito intoned softly, deciding that to repay Voldemort for leading him around in the dark.

"I just did not like to think that this entire time you have been harping on the importance of blood purity, when it was simply petty revenge that called you to hate muggles. It is because your father ran off on you leaving you to your dying mother, forcing you be raised in an orphanage, right?"

"_Crucio!_"

Naito collapsed, screaming as wave after wave of pain rolled over him to be replaced by a fresh surge of agony.

When he was finally released from Voldemort's wrath, the Dark Lord's voice had taken on a hissing quality that was especially reserved for his anger.

"You should have learned, boy, during your training that it is unwise to speak in such opposition to your betters."

"You're right, I did. Good thing there are none around here like that, huh, Tom? Why, it looks to me as if I'm simply surrounded by smarmy gits and pureblooded bigots!"

"_Cruci_—"

Naito braced himself for the onslaught of pain, closing his eyes and clenching his teeth together...for something that never came.

Naito looked up in wary curiousness as the Dark Lord began laughing.

"I have let you make me angry...you have effectively sidetracked me from my original line of questioning...or so you may have thought. Very Slytherin."

"Really? And here I thought I was being Gryffindor; ah, it seems as though I shall never be rid of your taint."

Completely bypassing the rest of the sentence, Voldemort latched onto the one most important.

"Gryffindor? Ah, so you have betrayed me because you have become friends with Gryffindors after all, is it?"

Unable to keep his mouth closed, as usual, the words tumbled out of Harry's mouth so fast he hardly knew what he was saying. All he knew was extreme anger and rage that this man who had killed his parents dared involve his friends in this war in any way.

"No! It's because I finally realized what you've done to me! I know who I am! I remember _everything_! Every detail of this life...and my last."

"I see. Well, this is something I had not counted on, but no less knew might happen. Well, then everyone...allow me to introduce to you my special guest—HARRY POTTER!"

At this several Death Eaters in the room burst out in angry and surprised mutterings as their lord incanted, waving his wand and diminishing Naito's metamorphmagus image to reveal the great hero of the Light.

Receiving a signal from their master, Lucius Malfoy and Belatrix Lestrange stepped forward restraining Harry as Ganmou stepped up behind them casting several foreign spells to keep Harry from unleashing his wandless magic and from using his shapeshifting abilities.

With those spells firmly in place, the trio coerced Harry from the room to the dungeons where he would be held when he was not being tortured.

Eager to get started in on his prize, Voldemort dismissed all the other Death Eaters for the night, thinking that as he had finally dispensed with the traitor among his number that there would be none to alert the Order of the Phoenix that their savior was in trouble.

How wrong he was.

_**(To Be Continued…)**_

**A/N-** Hope you liked it gang! Sorry it took me forever! One more thanks to all of you that reviewed and waited patiently (or impatiently) for this chapter to come out. I'm hoping to update soon now that school's out and I've graduated!

**Coming Up:**_ Well, Harry's gotten himself into quite a bind this time! The Order's coming, but will they make it in time to save their boy wonder? Find out in Chapter 20: Playing a Losing Hand._


	21. Playing a Losing Hand

**Title:** Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls

**Author:** SerafinaMoon

**Date:** May 17-August 11, 2006

**Summary: **Voldemort has discovered a new weapon—the Orb of Souls. With it, he has discovered a way to purge the world—with their only savior.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter, any of its characters, or themes. I will not profit from this story except receiving enjoyment of your questions, comments, and input on this work.

**Claimer:** I do, however, own this story and its plot and any Original Characters that I may use during the duration of the story making process.

**A/N-** So sorry for taking so long guys! I had no idea my summer was going to be as busy as my school year! I know it's no excuse, but I finally did it. Here's the last chapter of Harry Potter and the Orb of Souls. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you all for waiting so patiently!

* * *

**Chapter 20: Playing a Losing Hand **

"_Dementia!_"

_No! No! NOOO!_

Harry squeezed each temple, pushing them together with the palms of his hands, as if to rid himself of the horrible images and sounds of memory that flashed across his mind from the effects of the Dementor spell.

All alone, except for his torturer, Harry lay on the floor of one of Voldemort's darkest dungeons, curled up in a fetal position so that he would present the smallest target possible. His breathing was labored and hitched frequently, his body trembling and sweaty from too many Cruciatus Curses.

His wrists and ankles were chained to a strong metal link embedded in the floor. It would have been easy to snap the chains had he been able to transform into one of his stronger Animagus forms; however, wards had been prepared beforehand on this particular cell so that only wanded magic would be usable, which meant as long as they did not give Harry his wand, there was no possible way for him to escape without help.

It had been two days already since he had been discovered as the spy among Voldemort's ranks. Luckily Snape had managed to escape the Dark Lord's notice and the Order would still be able to have inside information passed on to them.

Harry secretly felt that they should use that inside information to save _him_, but tried to suppress the feeling. No matter how bad the torture and his suffering, it would be even worse if the Order were to attempt a rescue and lose the war to Voldemort than for Harry to just endure in isolation.

Thus it was with complete surprise when the Dementor curse was lifted due to a knock at the door in which Snape's crooked nose poked through the small slit in the door and conversed in hurried whispers with Ganmou. What was even more surprising was when Ganmou dashed out of the room following the confrontation allowing Snape to enter.

"What's going on?" Harry had the courage to ask once the last echoes of footsteps faded.

"The Order is here; they've decided that risking everything to rescue you is the only way we will be able to win this war," Snape sneered. "Apparently, Albus believes you are the '_Chosen One_' and the only one able to save us."

The look on the Potion Master's face was indiscernible to Harry and he wondered if it was because the man had finally been able to see the rest of Harry Potter, such as his Slytherin side and did not know how to act around the wizarding world's savior anymore. If that was the case, Harry no longer knew how to act around his former Professor either now that he knew the man could be trusted and discovered what all the man had to go through during his tenure as a spy.

Their moment of scrutiny passed quickly as a thunderous multitude of footsteps resounded from the ceiling reminding them that the battle outside was underway and reinforcements from Voldemort's end were coming to the aid of their fellows.

"Alright," Harry announced as Snape finished shoving the last of his strength renewing potions down his throat. "Did you see them fighting out there on your way in?"

"Yes, Dumbledore and the Dark Lord were already closing in on each other when I—"

"Did you see Voldemort with some kind of sphere when you were out there?"

"If you are referring to the Orb of Souls, no, I did not notice it in his possession."

"Great, then we might just have a chance at this thing. Let's go!"

Harry bolted out the door before Snape could get a word in edgewise; unfortunately, he was going the wrong way. Instead of up and out to escape from the fortress, he was going down and in to the most tightly guarded areas.

"Wait, you little--!" Snape trailed off, preferring to catch up to the brat before speaking so as not to look like he had lost his mind and was only talking to himself in the dimly lit corridors.

"It is my job to make sure you make it out of this place _alive_, which means you will follow my directions; do you understand me!" Snape was nearly spitting with rage as he finally caught up to the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Oh yeah, well it's my job to make sure Voldemort doesn't go rampaging around the world for the rest of eternity! I've been presented with the perfect opportunity to defeat that monster once and for all and I'm not about to let it slip through my fingers just because Professor Dumbledore told you something that you're taking too literally!"

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It's obvious the only reason he wants me alive is so I can kill Voldemort for him! He knows the prophecy, he knew that only Voldemort and I can defeat each other, and yet when I supposedly 'died' he never once looked for me."

"Well why should he when all the evidence pointed to the singular fact that you were indeed _dead_!"

"Oh, but don't you know! The usual rules don't apply to me! They never have! Every single year I've been placed in some kind of life threatening situation and not once has Dumbledore done anything to stop any one of them. In fact he was always giving me just enough information that I would get into trouble, but not enough to help me figure out how to get back out!

"He's the one that gave me my dad's invisibility cloak first year so I could sneak around out of bounds, he's the one that told me how to use the Mirror of Erised so I could get the stone out, he's the one that gave us the time turner third year so we could go back in time to save Sirius—"

That seemed to be last straw for the Potion Master; he could contain himself no longer.

"Don't you DARE blame all of your attention-seeking stunts on the Headmaster. You should have been expelled after your first year, but instead you were rewarded and this is how you repay your beneficiaries..."

"Yeah, I stab them in the back, just like I'm going to do to Voldemort who took me in for a year as well. You know Snape, you're not the epitome of righteousness either!"

"This isn't about me!"

"No, this is about this stupid war that all you slimy blood purists started just because you wanted to hold onto your bigotry! Well you know what Snape, I don't care! Do what you want for all I care! I don't have time for this. I have a job to do, and I intend to get it done with or without help, whatever it takes."

With that, Harry raced off again, leaving Snape behind, slightly shocked at his former student's audacity.

* * *

_How dare that self-righteous pet of Dumbledore insinuate that barmy old coot cares even one wit about ME! He never has and never will! As long as I defeat Voldemort for him! Well, I may get rid of that slimy snake, but it'll be for me! I'm not going to let him take away everything I care about without paying his dues!_ Harry fumed silently as he stomped down the hall towards the 'Forbidden Chamber'.

Placing his hand on the door and feeling all of the complex locking spells magically sealing the door, Harry knew he was going to need his wand if he wanted to get through the wards quickly enough to catch Voldemort while he was still distracted.

Thankful to be out of the charmed room that restricted his magic, Harry wandlessly summoned his wand from wherever the Dark Lord had stashed it. He was extremely relieved to see his holly and phoenix feather wand zipping down the hall towards him and felt even better when it settled, resting in his hand.

Remembering the time Fred and George taught him how to pick a lock and Voldemort's lessons on disabling a ward, Harry combined the two and subtly, delicately released the wards surrounding the Forbidden Chamber.

Instead of a faint click to let Harry know he had uncovered the wards, there was a sharp shock as the magic was unlocked and Harry was pushed back a bit.

Not wasting any time rejoicing in his success, Harry hurried back over to the door, unlatched it, and stepped inside. Sitting there on a pedestal at the far end of the room was the Orb of Souls.

"Yes!" Harry whispered; glad that Voldemort had not the time to take it with him when the Order attacked. If he had, neither the Order of the Phoenix nor even Dumbledore would stand a chance against him.

Thankful for the chance that was finally presented to him to vanquish the Dark Lord, Harry strode across the room and scooped up the Orb of Souls.

Then, taking care not to lose his grip on the sphere, Harry sprinted down the hallways and up several flights of stairs so he could get out to where the fighting was taking place.

Peeking out the main entrance, Harry could see that all the fighting was taking place on the front lawn. Aurors in their red robes could be seen shooting spells at masses of wizards clad in black attire, while the Order of Phoenix members were dressed all in white robes, which were mostly covered in dirt, grime, and in some cases blood.

Even though most that were fighting seemed to be clustered into groups, at one of the four corners of the compound a ring of open space had been created for two dueling wizards with tremendous amounts of power: Dumbledore and Voldemort.

_Perfect!_ Harry thought. _ Now is my chance to catch Voldemort unaware and finally get rid of him once and for all._

Thankfully Voldemort was facing Dumbledore and had his back facing Harry and so was unable to see him sneaking up behind him. Dumbledore could however and threw an incredibly powerful spell in the Dark Lord's direction to keep him distracted.

However, instead of trying to deflect or block the curse, Voldemort simply Apparated behind Dumbledore, which gave him a perfect view of what was happening.

Ruby eyes locked onto emerald orbs and the game was up. Harry had not the time to close off his mind before Voldemort's Legilimency exposed his plan. It also happened that a small group of Death Eaters and Order members had been drawn closer to the cleared ring of lawn due to their fighting and one of them was knocked into Harry causing him to fall to the ground, losing his precious hold on the Orb of Souls.

Voldemort knowing of his plan to rid the world of the Dark Lord, decided to use the Orb of Souls for his own evil purposes and shouted, "_Accio!_" summoning the orb into his slim, bony hand.

"NO!" Harry cried, attempting to overcome the summoning spell with one of his own, which failed.

Harry watched in horror as Voldemort began an incantation to summon the souls into the orb of a big group of people. He was going to get rid of the entire Order of the Phoenix with a single spell, leaving behind all his Death Eaters undamaged!

Grateful that he had gotten to the Orb of Souls book before Voldemort, Harry began the incantation that would provide a powerful protection over the ones whose souls he did not want to be taken.

It seemed to be a race against time to see who would finish their spell first and it was fear and panic that Harry realized Voldemort would complete his incantation first. Already a faint white mist had begun to spew from the orb and begin to collect its first victim—Dumbledore.

Hoping that he could still prevent the light's leader from being taken, Harry hurriedly finished the last few remaining syllables.

But it was not enough. Dumbledore was gone.

Shock, horror, sadness, fear, and anger all mixed together inside the Boy-Who-Lived, fully reviving his deep-seated hatred for his parents' murderer.

Harry looked up, staring Voldemort full in the face. His emerald green eyes were bright in their intensity almost as if a flame were burning in their center. The wind began to howl furiously as the magic around Harry Potter gathered. Leaves, grass, and dirt were picked up in the wind around the Boy-Who-Lived, giving him an eerie powerful appeal as everything began to cyclone around the boy hero.

Everyone became silent; all fighting stopped in that moment as the power around Harry grew and with a single shout from him, threw itself at the self-proclaimed dark lord and the Orb of Souls.

He did not know how it happened; it was not possible. He had not even uttered anything resembling an incantation. However, the love that Harry had was so powerful, so strong that despite the usual rules, Dumbledore was restored to his body, Voldemort's soul disappeared into the Orb, and, with an almighty blast of power from Harry, the Orb of Souls shattered into miniscule fragments, leaving the Dark Lord's body where it lay.

Stiff.

Immobile.

Cold.

Dead.

Harry fell to his knees as fatigue set in. He had just magically exhausted himself. It was worth it, however, to bring his parent's murderer to justice.

_Merlin_, Harry thought as what he had done finally sunk in, _I just killed Voldemort. He's gone for good now. I'm free._

The last thing Harry heard before slipping into unconsciousness were the screams of the remaining Death Eaters as they each clutched their arms in pain.

* * *

Wakefulness slowly returned to Harry by degrees; first came the sounds of birds chirping outside the window and the stillness of the room around him. Next came feeling, as the soft, comfort of the cushioned mattress underneath him and thick, oddly textured blankets on top. Finally, as Harry opened his eyes to take in his surroundings, the brightness of the sun shinning through the window made itself known.

It was during Harry's look around the room that he was made aware of the fact that he was not the only occupant.

Sitting on one side of the bed, tucked somewhat into the corner was the aged Headmaster—Albus Dumbledore.

His eyes sparkled with an intensity that Harry had never seen before and his entire presence radiated a happiness that could not be contained within the old wizard's wizened form.

Harry marveled at the change and wondered why the Professor just kept staring at him without speaking. It took a moment for the past few days to sink in and for Harry to remember what had transpired that morning.

_Had it really only been this morning?_ Harry wondered.

Once complete recollection of what he had done settled in on him, Harry figured out what the Headmaster's look must mean.

It was pride.

Professor Dumbledore was proud of him.

"Professor?" Harry inquired softly.

"You were brilliant, my boy! Simply marvelous! There are not words to describe how I feel about what you have done. I thank you, Harry Potter, for purging the world of the evil influence of Lord Voldemort. Well done, my boy."

"Um...thank you, Professor," Harry replied, not quite sure what to say, or how to handle the comments, "but what's going to happen now?"

"Well, I think it's about time Harry Potter officially came back to life, don't you? I know your friends and family have missed you considerably."

"Surely you can't mean the Dursleys!"

"No, my dear boy. Family does not necessarily consist of those related to us by blood, but also those we love, and who, in turn, reciprocate that love back to us. The Order is your family, Harry."

"Oh."

"Considering the events that have transpired, I believe I shall just have to call an Order meeting, don't you? Only this time, when you come, you might want to dispense with the Dark Lord's spy disguise."

"Um...alright."

* * *

"Why did I ever agree to this!" Harry spoke to the empty room in one of Grimmauld's upstairs bedrooms, pacing back and forth and tugging on the collar of his shirt in a nervous manner.

What would everyone think once he told them where he had been and what he had been doing all this time? Surely they had all moved on and were getting on fine without him now, right?

Would they all be mad at him for fighting for Voldemort, spying on the Order for him, and coming back to Hogwarts so he could betray them all? How could they ever want him back after finding out about everything!

The fear and tension just kept building up inside of Harry as the minutes ticked by with no one except himself for company while he waited for the Order to arrive.

Would his friends ever want to speak to him again? Would they shun him for the rest of his life? Would they—

Harry's musings were cut short as the Headmaster knocked on the door and stepped into the room, signaling for Harry to precede him down the stairs and that the time had come...the Order had arrived.

Steeling himself to just get everything over and done with, Harry heaved in a huge breath of air, held it, and released it in a sigh before gathering together his courage and walking into the kitchen.

"Hello everyone," Harry muttered quietly and was immediately met with silence.

For a moment, time seemed to stop, everybody was so still, depression began to overwhelm Harry and he braced himself for rejection, when all of a sudden the entire room sprang into action.

Everyone was clamoring for Harry's attention, giving him excited pats and tearful hugs; even when Harry spun his tale, his audience gasped and awed in all the right places. Never once did a look of rejection cross a countenance, never once did they blame him for the things he had been brainwashed into doing; they just accepted him and loved him, just like a family should.

Over the sea of familiar faces, Harry and Dumbledore's eyes locked. Harry grinned in delight; for the first time in his life, Harry was free...and he was home.

_**(The End)**_


End file.
